Thomas Müntzer 1925

In 1925, playwright Berta Lask (1878–1967) wrote a play to mark 400th anniversary of the German Peasants’ War. In it, she imagines Thomas Müntzer waking up every hundred years to address the contemporary political situation.

To mark the 100th year of the play and the 500th of the Peasants’ War, MayDay Radio will be hosting a reading or performance of the play in collaboration with the New Factory of the Eccentric Actor.

This follows the release of a new translation of the play, published as a free PDF by Rab-Rab Press on May 1, edited by Sam Dolbear, with designs by Ott Kagovere – which will be available later as a printed book with commentaries.

The reading of the play will take place at MayDay Rooms on the afternoon of Saturday 3rd of May from 1pm.

If you would like to join, to read a part or join the festivities, please write to audio@maydayrooms.org where all the details will be provided.

If you would also like to do a reading elsewhere, do also get in touch.

Images below from Frederick Engels's 1850 study The Peasant War in Germany

Translation by Sam Dolbear with Esther Leslie, Charlotte Thießen, Joey Simons and others

With thanks to Sam Keogh, Hannah Proctor, Oliver Silverman, Christina Chalmers, Michael Runyan, Rosemary Grennan