Botho Strauß’s enigmatic play Schlußchor, published and first performed in 1991, was
one of the first and most significant dramas to address the fall of the Berlin Wall.
A recurring motif and key concern here is the experience of a completely unforeseen,
but decisive moment, and the failure to seize its full potential, in particular in the portrayal
of a first encounter between West and East Germans. On a more concrete level, a
perplexing leitmotif is that, during each act, a character suddenly and inexplicably yells
out: “Deutschland!” Written by one of the most controversial West German authors,
whose work at the time was declared to reflect and indeed anticipate the Zeitgeist of the
Federal Republic, Schlußchor is a particularly interesting text to revisit from today’s perspective.
This chapter will focus on those elements and aspects that in hindsight appear
particularly prescient in their portrayal of the events of November 1989, those that seem
to have changed beyond recognition since 1991, and the new viewpoints that emerge in
retrospect. More specifically, it will look at how the particular possibilities and traditions
of the theatre have been exploited in order to delve into questions of individual
and collective identity and the significance of the national.