In 1936, the Jewish tap dancer Harold May is invited to perform in front of an illustrious audience in Berlin. He is not told to whom exactly. The fee is high, so May accepts the offer. It is only when he is subjected to a »Rassentest« in Berlin that he is gripped by fear. Arthur Miller uses the story »Der Auftritt« to expose the racial delusion when the Führer personally invites a Jew to run a tap dancing school. Will Harold May make a deal with the devil? Thorsten Hierse reads the exciting short story from 1961 in connection with the production »Tod eines Handlungsreisenden« (premiere on April 15, 2025 in the Alter Saal).

Shakespeare's tragedy »König Lear« celebrates its premiere in the Marguerre Hall on 5 July 2025 in an adaptation by the Ukrainian-German playwright Pavlo Arie. In keeping with this, Lesezeit is also presenting a modern »Lear«. Joachim Zelter's novel from 2022 is about the decline of a philosophy professor who gradually loses his language after his festive farewell in so-called retirement - and with language comes memory and recollection. It is tragic and funny at the same time, moving and typically human.