Peasants' War on stage: Altusried celebrates a moving premiere!

Peasants' War on stage: Altusried celebrates a moving premiere!

The excitement is palpable in Altusried: The last rehearsal for the eagerly awaited premiere of the open-air play “1525 – Peasants’ War” took place on Tuesday evening. This production is dedicated to one of the most fateful chapters in Bavarian history and takes the audience into a turbulent time full of struggles for freedom and justice. Katja Wirthensohn, who takes on a leading role, has rehearsed her final touches and performs almost flawlessly, which causes some nervousness given the emotional intensity and use of pyrotechnics. Over 500 performers, including nearly 40 speaking roles, are involved in this impressive presentation, which brings the story closer to a wide audience while also featuring great visual effects such as a live orchestra, horses and carts.

Katja wears an authentic farmer's apron, which underlines the authenticity of the performance. Her role is not only an acting challenge, but also a personal matter; She plays a young woman from an Allgäu farming family who can read - a very special detail that gives her character weight at this time. “We are free, and we want to be free” is the motto of the piece and comes from the 12 articles of Memmingen, which formulated early demands for human rights and civil liberties.

The action in focus

The play analyzes the fate of a family during the Peasants' Wars of 1525, when the 3rd Estate, consisting of farmers and artisans, fought against their serfdom and arbitrary taxes. Director Sebastian Schwab developed the production together with the Altusried player community and author Christian Schönfelder. The performance combines fictional and historical characters, including well-known people such as the blacksmith Heberlin and the theologian Sebastian Lotzer, and illuminates the dramatic circumstances that led to the bloody suppression of the uprising. At the end of the Peasants' War, which culminated in the Battle of Leubas, numerous people, especially farmers, lost their lives.

Premiere and performances

The premiere will take place today, June 14, 2025, at 8:00 p.m., accompanied by a pageant that starts at 6:30 p.m. A total of 26 performance days are scheduled for the coming weeks, which will run until August 17, 2025, including numerous performances on the weekend. The performances offer a look into the lives of ordinary people during the pivotal historical events of 1525.

A generous contingent of tickets is available through the official ticket shop of the Altusried open-air theater, and Planet Allgäu readers can benefit from a discount if they use the code 1525-Premiere. In a place with over 140 years of theater tradition, the premiere will be a celebratory occasion to celebrate the connection between past and present.

At the end of the evening, a spectacular fireworks display will be lit that will be remembered not only by those involved, but also by the audience. Katja Wirthensohn and her sister Verena, who also play a role, will celebrate this special moment together with the Altusrieders, which shows how the time of the Peasants' War, although long gone, still arouses a lively interest and stimulates reflection today.