Stilles Land

A provincial theater in the GDR. Audiences are rare and no one believes in talent here. Kai, the new director, is initially shocked by the conditions in the small town and at the theater. His apartment was previously inhabited by cats and is run-down; in the village pub he makes the mistake of ordering a cup of tea and is beaten up as a result. But Kai is not the only one stranded here. Claudia has applied to all the theaters and was only accepted here. Kai embarks on a production of "Waiting for Godot" and tries to turn the theater upside down. He doggedly does everything he can to modernize the theater and rid it of its small-town stink. But he hasn't reckoned with the actors and other theater makers for whom this theater is the center of their lives and who react rather defiantly to Kai's controlling manner. Even when Claudia and Kai get closer, he doesn't have much use for her. He is too preoccupied with his play and, above all, with himself. So while everyone in the theater is waiting for Godot, the rest of the population is waiting for something to happen. "The country is silent!" complains one of the actors. The director should finally talk about something relevant, about Hungary, about the Prague embassy. The theater troupe set about writing a petition to Honecker demanding democracy. They organize a Monday demonstration, get an antenna to receive West German television and try to get to Berlin when the Wall falls.