Bayrische Trilogie

In the 1960s and 70s, Martin Sperr revolutionized the genre of folk plays, introducing a new, fresh, and critical tone. Later, Marieluise Fleisser referred to him, alongside Fassbinder and Kroetz, as one of her "three sons." Sperr gained fame with his stage debut: the premiere of "Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern" in 1966, which was adapted into a film two years later. This work marked the beginning of the highly regarded Bavarian trilogy, through which the author portrayed German post-war society—from the village (Jagdszenen aus Niederbayern) to the small town (Landshuter Erzählungen) and into the metropolis (Münchner Freiheit). Martin Sperr's texts are characterized by their linguistic power and their "precisely set dialect" (Tagesspiegel). He was an actor by training, not a theorist. "I have never read a book on drama theory," he once remarked. "Theories about theater and the world as such" is the tongue-in-cheek title of a notebook found in his estate, containing witty insights about the advantages of performing in beer tents, the similarities between heroes and cough syrup, keen observations about theater operations, language, the roles of the audience and actors, as well as thoughts on the staging of his plays. For the first time published, these treasures complement the new edition of the Bavarian trilogy released by the Verlag der Autoren.