The Sad, Sad Tale of Hanswurst.
Alright, so I've got a BFA in Acting degree and am not using for a whole lot of anything right now so... gather around children, and let's learn you some *Theatre History*. So, in general, by the late 16th and early 17th century, theatre was doing pretty well in Europe, and Comedy Especially. Everyone was enjoying their own form of semi-satirical farce utilizing stock characters; whether it be Commedia Dell'arte in Italy, or Comedy of Humours and Comedy of Manners in England. Germany (Or, the general region which would become Germany if you rather) however, had a slightly different take on Comedy. While they did use stock characters, most of their biggest original hits were formed around a central recurring character: Hanswurst (Aka "Johnny Sausage" or, as I prefer, "Weiner John"). A name derived from a popular insult at the time. Hanswurst was basically your typical buffoon: Bumbling into and out-of danger and trouble without really paying much attention to it. And people LOOOOOOVED it. Whether he was played by flesh and blood actors or portrayed by a Puppet, Children and Parents alike could not get enough of the little guy.
This, *would* be a problem to some, however.
You see by the mid 1700's, some folks in German theatrical circles started to feel a bit constrained by the clownish, half-improvised stylings Hanswurst symbolized. Theatre elsewhere was rapidly growing and evolving, but some German Actors, Writers, and Philosophers felt like their theatre was stagnating.
Scholar and Philosopher Johann Christoph Gottsched and Actress Friederike Caroline Neuber agreed that Hanswurst was the root cause of their problem. And so, they conspired to KILL the Puppet.
"But, how do we get rid of Hanswurst?" "The heart, Johann! We need to go for the heart!" And so, their dark plot was put into motion. The pair, and fellow conspirators, held a public execution of Hanswurst. They burned a Hanswurst puppet on-stage in an effort to 'Banish' him, once and for all. The public and the audience did not take kindly to this.
Whether or not it was immediately successful, the execution of Hanswurst did mark the end of an era, as it were. Though German Comedy wouldn't really take off the way Comedy in other European countries did, Germany would leave a mark in the form of musical theatre (for better and for worse, one cannot talk about German theatre without bringing up Wagner). The "Hanswurst Debate" will always be a story that will always stick with me, both because of the absurdity of it, and because it serves as a reminder that no matter the year or the country; theatre kids will always solve problems like theatre kids.
