Ewald Arenz: Fünf, sechs, sieben, acht

In the organizer's words:

Anton, 60 years old, is a tap dancer. Yes, he's not as fast as he used to be, but with his experience and expressiveness, he still dances away from everyone. So who could compete with him for the position of choreographer on a theater stage? But the new artistic director sees things differently - and hires Emma, Anton's daughter, of all people. Anton is hurt, angry, sad and at the same time proud of his daughter. He can't show her that.
The rejection brings up something inside him that he can no longer suppress: the feeling of getting older. Suddenly he senses his own finiteness and wonders whether he has lived his life properly. A question that makes him think of an old great love again. Jo had simply disappeared without a trace. Would he have lived a better life with her? It is Emma who comes across Jo's trail. He travels to Ireland with her. Old conflicts between father and daughter resurface. For Anton, it becomes a journey to himself and he realizes: it's only over when it's over. Until then, life has to be lived.

Ewald Arenz, born in Nuremberg in 1965, studied English and American literature and history. He works as a teacher at a grammar school in Nuremberg. His novels and plays have been awarded numerous prizes. 'Alte Sorten' (DuMont 2019) was on the "Favorite Book of the Independents" list in 2019 and on the Spiegel bestseller lists in both hardcover and paperback. His novel 'Der große Sommer' (DuMont 2021) was "Favorite Book of the Independents" in 2021. This and all other novels were also on the Spiegel bestseller list for weeks. Most recently, 'Katzentage' was published in 2025. The author lives with his family near Fürth.

Admission: 18 €
Tickets at the Peterknecht bookshop, all Ticket Shop Thüringen advance booking offices and at www.peterknecht.de

Photo Ewald Arenz © Ilka Birkefeld