Kurt Tucholsky, master of mockery and writer, was born on January 9th, Tucholskystraße is right around the corner and our theatre columnist Mely Kiyak is the current Tucholsky prize laureate – that’s already three reasons for the Gorki to remember, together with the Kurt Tucholsky Society, one of the most astute and critical writers of the Weimar Republic, and talk about what it means to use world affairs as material. Incorporating politics and contemporary history into satire, film, live comedy and columns has been a fixed part of Germany’s artistic tradition ever since Tucholsky, at the very latest. Mely, Fatih and Max are all part of this tradition, but hopefully they’ll disagree anyway. About when political thought in art turns into silly kitsch or when it hits at the core of art, namely its aspiration to tell stories of people and life.
