»Romulus the Great« by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

»romulus the great« by Friedrich Dürrenmatt
An unhistorical historical comedy in four parts

The Roman empire is collapsing although that does not bother imperator Romulus much. Even with the rapid advances of the Germanic troups lead by General Odokar, he intends to have his breakfast without being interrupted by bad news. The most important things in his life are his chickens (all named after great Roman imperators or philosophers) and how many eggs they produce. The breeding of his chickens has become his one and only passion.
Ever since Romulus took over the governance of the Western Roman Empire some 20 years ago, he has only ever taken her of his cluckin hens.
His palace is just as run down as the whole country. Not long ago the minister of finance has made away with the treasury, leaving Romulus to pay his staff with the last leaves of his golden laurel crown.

Romulus' wife Julia and the remaining court are very worried about all the reports of threats to their world and urge their imperator to DO SOMETHING.
But, alas, Romulus does not want to. He is not even willing to take up Cäsar Rupf's ─ who happens to be a very rich pants manufacturer ─ offer to invest millions into Rome's rescue in exchange for Romulus' daughter's hand in marriage and a law making wearing pants a civic duty.

The imperator's laziness and lack of interest drive his allies insane. But there is something they do not know: Romulus' ostensible lethargy is part of a grander scheme. He is working deliberately on the downfall of the Roman empire because he does not deem it worthy of continuing to exist ─ and he has decided to be the judge of his depraved homeland himself.

Friedrich Dürrenmatt's comedy takes place from the morning of 15th March until the morning of 16th March 476 and has some bearing on the demise of the Roman empire in the Fifth century A.D. Yet it is only a vague reference to the actual historical events.
Instead Dürrenmatt uses the premise for an amusing yet analytically astute thought model showcasing the downfall of highly developed civilisations because of their own satiety and arrogance they present to the world.
At the time of the play's creation in 1949 the references to nationalism and war were rather obvious.
Dürrenmatt edited this timelessly relevant text regularly until 1980. The setting and characters in »Romulus the Great« are designed with a certain absurdity and comicality. At the same time the narrative about the »imperial chicken breeder« and »world's judge in a fool's costume« allows the grotesque and perceptive analysis of political and societal cohesion to shine through. It is, without a doubt, a typical Dürrenmatt!

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