A life in poverty, on the edge of society without understanding

Ueli Bräker was a lot: farmer, soldier, deserter. But posterity knows him first and foremost as "the poor man of Tockenburg". Bräker now lives in an open-air play on the Thurtal stage. Paul Steinmann is particularly interested in the dual personality of Bräker

Hansruedi Kugler 2.7.2018, 06: 25 hours

In rehearsal at the place of origin the house of the youth Bräkers: the painter Josef Reinhard (on the right), behind Ueli Bräker at 55 Guschti (photo: Michael Hug)

Ueli Bräker was a Toggenburger peasant, soldier serving the King of Prussia, deserter, then back Toggenburg Salpetersieder, Bauer and the merchants of yarns and fabrics, but especially because of his "biography of poor Tockenburg" of 1788, which gives a unique insight into the L just the rural lower class in the 18th century. The Zurich author and director Paul Steinmann wrote an outdoor play about the life of Ueli Bräker on behalf of the Thurtal scene.

Paul Steinmann, in Toggenburg, there are many who no longer want to be associated with Bräker because they do not see their area as a poor home.

Yes, I can understand that. It can be unpleasant to always be reduced to a type and here especially to the image of the poor region.

You have always accepted the assignment for the play on Ueli Bräker. What do you find interesting about it?

His biography is incredibly multi-layered and multi-faceted. I did not write a socio-political indictment or a piece on poverty. As a playwright, the challenge for me was to show how such a life.

And how do you solve this challenge?

My idea was: Ueli tells his life in a chronological sequence, which then, in memory of the audience, continues to grow in animated scenes, giving the piece its rhythm. There will be a total of five different old Uelis.

To whom does he relate his life?

In my piece, it is the costume painter Josef Reinhart who painted his wife and him in 1793 for a series of Swiss costumes. Because Bräker is tight at the outset, Reinhart challenges him to talk about his life. This frees the memory and Bräker again enjoys having an interested listener. We all know such situations.

You read a lot about Bräker. What impression did you have of him?

He was an inner person. There was not much action in his life, he read a lot, thought, wrote. I found the question of how he endured his life particularly exciting. A life in poverty, on the margins of society, with a family who had no understanding of his literature. So how can one perceive and behave someone who sees his self-realization hindered? I found it interesting. Whoever blames himself constantly and lives in this split. Bräker varies between euphoria and depression.

Seen this way, he is a psychologically modern person. He who wants to go beyond his position, but reproaches his ambition of vanity. He tortures himself.

Exactly. And from the outside, especially by his wife Salome, also comes the accusation that he neglects his family because of his useless writing.

Bräker describes Salome as a domestic dragon. Does she also play in your game?

You can not get around it. There is only the report of Ueli Bräker on Salome. And because I stood near the template, Salome is also a house dragon in my room. But she also has tender sides. Finally, she lets him write and, in a touching scene, they stand together on the grave of their first two children. They also had moments of intimate familiarity.

Bräker was not only a small farmer, but he also led an adventurous life. How do you bring the Battle of Lobositz, from where Bräker escaped, onstage?

I do not let the scene disappear. But a realistic representation of the battle would be very difficult and expensive. We did not want showmanship either. Thurtalbühne is based on empathic and naturalistic representation, which is why, for example, women do not play the roles of men and men do not play the roles of women. But the adaptation of the stage is the responsibility of the director Stefan Camenzind. Let yourself be surprised.

When Bräker deserts, he looks like a touching coward in the biography, almost like a pacifist.

I understand him very well. It's totally close to me. It's a completely heroic act, I would have behaved like that.

Bräker could also be related to our world of work. He also had to take on new jobs again and again.

This is a good keyword. For me, the story of the inner life was more in the center. I do not want to interpret too much, but let you feel what Bräker has felt in his life. But with all the music and all the humor in the production, it leaves room for personal interpretations. The public will discover many facets.

Ueli Bräker dies in the end impoverished and literally failed. His biography was successful, but none of his later books were bought. Will your play be a comedy or a tragedy?

It's like Romeo and Juliet, the play begins as a comedy and ends with a tragedy. In the end, like everyone else, death is bitter at Bräker's. But the great thing about Bräker is that he created and left so much that he remembers him after more than 200 years. Only a small number can say it.