Urians Weltreise

Abstract

Hans Urian goes for Bread is the title of a much acclaimed Berlin children’s theater premiere from 1929. The stage play deals with a hungry working class boy, travelling around the world in the company of a talking and flying hare and thereby earning elementary insights into the politics and economy of capitalism. With Béla Balász and Lisa Tetzner, the play had two authors who were already quite well known at the time. A third, Erich Kästner, contributed some lyrics. The staging at the renowned Lessing Theater was provided by a group of young actors who had already established a reputation as a well-known left-wing theater collective. The great attention paid to this piece (within the Left and beyond) is documented primarily by the numerous theatrical reviews, which, incidentally, also provide valuable information about the staging style. Furthermore, the success of the story can be seen in numerous adaptations and continuations. The most important of these seems to be the novel version by Lisa Tetzner, which has been repeatedly published and translated into many languages. In addition – until 1933 and then again after 1945 – further children’s books varying the plot were produced besides an animated movie. The article analyses the development of the Hans Urian story since 1929, but also deals with its previous history by uncovering various pretext references. Additionally, some problems of theory and terminology raised by the subject of the contribution will be discussed.