The queen is the opposite of elegant, but she is blessed with a big mouth and a warm heart. She wants to please her husband, but he doesn't appreciate it - just an old married couple. One with financial difficulties. One solution would be to marry Arthur's son to the daughter of the English royal family. But where do we get the dowry from? “Maybe the Holy Grail would be something,” suggests King Paul. “The English are definitely still missing that.”

Volker Ruhlig, who stands as King Paul on stage in the Großhennersdorf meeting center, is not an actor. He is a full-time painter - and in his free time a member of the Großhennersdorf carnival club.

Carnival is celebrated differently here. There are no hand-written speeches and penalty councils, neither is Funkenmariechen. “For us these are dancers,” says President Hartmut Tittmann. The Großhennersdorf carnival club prefers to do theater. “That developed when we moved into this house.”

A house with small, colorful rooms instead of a large hall. “What we do fits in well here,” says Hartmut Tittmann. “We were looking for a niche.” The middle between Schunkel carnival and theater.

This year the fools dared to create their own piece for the first time. “All you need is Love” it says: The last Roman has left England, now royal families rule. The Scots would like to marry their son Artus to Artrosé, Princess of the English royal family. But different rules apply there: appearances are important, and so is money. To convince the English, his parents send the Scottish Prince Arthur to search for the Holy Grail.

This year the fools dared to create their own piece for the first time. “All you need is Love” it says: The last Roman has left England, now royal families rule. The Scots would like to marry their son Artus to Artrosé, Princess of the English royal family. But different rules apply there: appearances are important, and so is money. To convince the English, his parents send the Scottish Prince Arthur to search for the Holy Grail.

“Maybe not everyone likes what we do,” says Michael Peschke. He plays the evil fairy who wants to prevent Arthur from finding the Holy Grail. His main job is directing tank trucks with biofuel throughout Europe. “Some might prefer the typical Upper Lusatian carnival. But this is our unique selling point.”

Another special feature: The Großhennersdorfer Narren not only work with acting on stage, but also with film. “We record anything that is difficult to implement on stage in advance,” explains Hartmut Tittmann. For “Feuerzangenbowle”, for example, the carnival club filmed in the old village school – and had former teachers appear in supporting roles. For “All you need is Love” the fools were guests at Mortka Castle in the municipality of Lohsa last summer. And this time too, well-known people from Großhennersdorf took on small film roles. Pastor Alexander Wieckowski, for example, breaks off his church service to search for the Holy Grail.

Also visible: Horst Palme, known in the region for riding his folding bike from Großhennersdorf to Zittau or Löbau every day.

Preparations for the pieces begin in spring. Then Patrick Weißig from Hillerschen Villa works on the dialogues. “The roles are then assigned,” explains Hartmut Tittmann. And in such a way that they also fit the person. “We now know the characters and know who can play what.”

The Großhennersdorf carnival club has 35 permanent members, plus twelve children. Filming takes place in the summer, and rehearsals for the stage parts take place once a week from September. It won't be too much, says Patrick Weißig. In addition to directing, he also plays the role of the English king. “Then I wouldn’t do it. For me, it's a giving to the region.” He's more concerned about ensuring that everything really works out for the performances.

This year the troupe is not only working with film sequences again, but also with a narrator and live music. Michael Peschke also says: “In the first few years I still had stage fright.” That has now subsided. He has a strategy to get his text across. “I always go through the textbook over my first coffee early before work,” he says.

(from an article in the SZ - February 2017 / By Susanne Sodan)

For our topic "Allyou need is love..." we were also able to attend, among other things Jacubzburg filming in Mortka - with the kind support of Dr. med. Andre Jakubetz. Simply put: a truly fantastic setting that you should definitely take a look at. A trip is definitely worth it!