On 16 January, we, class 9e1, went on an excursion to see the drama ‘The Visit’ by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, which we had previously studied in detail in class. We had had enough of the dry theory and were now longing to finally see the play staged. After some research, we discovered that the nearest theatre currently staging this play was Schauspiel Leipzig. However, the fact that the theatre is in Leipzig, as the name suggests, was not a problem, so we booked the tickets without further ado.

Before we could finally start on 16 January, we had five hours of lessons, much to everyone's displeasure. What we didn't realise at the time was that this wouldn't be the only delay. We eventually arrived at Berlin Central Station. However, it soon became apparent that Deutsche Bahn had to live up to its reputation. After standing on the cold platform for what felt like an eternity, the train finally arrived. But of course, it didn't stop there. After the train had been standing on the platform for ages, an announcement was made that for some inexplicable reason the two halves of the train could not be coupled together and therefore only one half would be travelling to Leipzig. As expected, we were on the wrong half of the train. As a result, we finally decided to take another train.

In the end, we arrived at Leipzig Central Station about three hours late. This meant that we missed all our free time in Leipzig and most of the workshop planned for us by the theatre.

When we finally took our seats in the box of the large theatre hall of Schauspiel Leipzig at 7.30 pm, we could hardly wait for the show to start. The production is a new interpretation of the drama, which nevertheless only uses the original texts. In addition to the topics covered in Friedrich Dürrenmatt's text, it also deals with social media and cyberbullying. While some found this particularly exciting, others, who would have preferred a classic form, were more disappointed than enthusiastic.

After around two hours of enjoyment (more for some and less for others), we headed home again. We arrived at Berlin Central Station shortly after midnight. Everyone was very tired after the exertions of the journey and therefore very happy not to have lessons until the third hour the next day.

Many thanks to Ms Heymann and Mr Eberhard for making the trip possible. It was worthwhile not only to read the play in class, but also to see it on stage.

Ella K. (9E1)