BLESSED ARE THE BLOCKHEADS! is Now Playing at Theater St.Gallen

There were numerous stories about Paula Roth, the landlady of the "Bellaluna" in the Albula Valley, and when she was murdered in 1988, the "witch of the Albula Valley" finally became a legend. Films are made, their 'art' goes into the museum, a biography is written - it is made into an original and the "Bellaluna" even becomes a place of worship.

What kind of refuge was it that Paula Roth created for herself? An alternative to the established social system that surrounded them? A little Switzerland in Switzerland? What options do people, groups or entire states have who do not have access to a community of their own kind - or perhaps do not want it at all? How far does mutual solidarity reach - in principle and especially in times of crisis?

The stories we tell ourselves are no coincidence: stories always serve as a means of self-assurance, we project fears and longings into them. And it is precisely stories that condense into legends that reveal more about a society in which they take place than they might wish. And perhaps the very concrete story of Paula Roth and her bizarre community in the "Bellaluna" will have a significance that goes far beyond the biographical peculiarities of this Eastern Swiss woman.

With this music-theatrical séance, drama director Jonas Knecht bids farewell to the St.Gallen audience after seven years and once again reflects on our society and the stories that hold it together.

In the open art museum, Center for Outsider Art at Davidstrasse 44 is showing a small exhibition of works by Paula Roth from April 1st to May 11th.

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