Marcus Schmickler
Studio Piethopraxis

"Schreber Songs" delves into the true story of attorney Daniel Paul Schreber (1842-1911), son of the renowned orthopedist and founder of the Kleingarten movement, Moritz Schreber. Schreber’s case gained notoriety when Sigmund Freud examined it, a few years after Schreber’s death. Throughout the 20th century this case is reviewed by writers from psychanalytic and media theory  (Canetti, Lacan, Deleuze, Kittler, Santner). 

The piece focuses on aspects that render Schreber a contemporary figure: from today's perspective, Schreber epitomizes a new breed of survivor. Ultimately triumphing over his legal incapacitation by penning his memoirs, Schreber's plea for restoration of his autonomy resonates. The court recognized that within his ostensibly delusional world, reason, logic, and coherence prevailed, making deprivation of his rights tantamount to a dismissal of societal order and rationality.

'Schreber: Our Contemporary'

The production eschews a linear narrative of Schreber's life or a portrayal of his delusions. Instead, it centers on the aspects that render Schreber relevant today. Schreber emerges as a prototype for a novel form of resilience. Viewing the present era as the culmination of the dissolution of traditional patriarchal structures and the failure of modernist dreams, Schreber's memoirs capture a pivotal moment in history. His personal journey embodies both the trauma of societal upheaval and the liberation from rigid, patriarchal norms. Confronting this crisis with the creative construction of his own reality, Schreber defies convention, forging connections with himself and others amid a shifting landscape of identity and societal norms.


Supported by Kunststiftung NRW und das Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft