"Romulus the Great"

The Roman Empire is collapsing, but that seems to hardly interest Emperor Romulus. Despite the rapid advance of the Germanic troops under the commander Odokar, he remains calm and has no intention of letting bad news disturb his breakfast. Much more important to him is that his chickens, all named after great Roman emperors or philosophers, lay good eggs. The Roman Empire is collapsing, but that seems to hardly interest Emperor Romulus. Despite the rapid advance of the Germanic troops under the commander Odokar, he remains calm and has no intention of letting bad news disturb his breakfast. Much more important to him is that his chickens, all named after great Roman emperors or philosophers, lay good eggs. For he is completely passionate about breeding poultry. Since Romulus took over the rule of the Western Roman Empire 20 years ago, he has only cared about the clucking birds. His palace is as dilapidated as the entire country. His finance minister has just fled with the state treasury, so he has to pay his employees with one of the last leaves from his golden laurel wreath. Romulus' wife Julia and the remaining court are greatly concerned about the world-shattering news and urge the emperor to finally take action. But Romulus has no intention of doing so. He is also not willing to accept the offer from the wealthy trouser manufacturer Caesar Rupf, who would invest millions in saving Rome if he could marry Romulus' daughter and make wearing trousers a civic duty. With his laziness and disinterest, the emperor drives his associates to despair. What they do not suspect is that Romulus, with his apparent lethargy, is actually pursuing a higher goal. He is deliberately working towards the downfall of the Roman Empire, which he believes does not deserve to continue existing, and he sees himself as the judge of his corrupt homeland. Friedrich Dürrenmatt's comedy takes place from the morning of March 15 to the morning of March 16, 476, and makes references to the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. However, he has only loosely adhered to history and has used it as an amusing yet analytically sharp thought model about the collapse of highly developed civilizations that perish due to their satiety and arrogance with which they seek to bless the entire world. At the time of its creation in 1949, the allusions to nationalism and war were evident. Until 1980, Dürrenmatt regularly revised this timelessly relevant text. The setting and characters in "Romulus the Great" are marked by absurd comedy. At the same time, a grotesquely sharp analysis of political and social contexts emerges from this story about the "imperial chicken breeder" and the "world judge disguised as a fool," as Dürrenmatt himself calls him. A typical Dürrenmatt indeed! An ahistorical historical comedy in four acts by Friedrich Dürrenmatt.