A lovely small theatre

The Büchner Bühne is a lovely small theatre in the small town of Riedstadt. It is named after Georg Büchner who was born nearby in 1813. Büchner was a dramatist and writer of poetry and prose. He died at the age of only 23 but his writings are generally held in great esteem in Germany.

The theatre has been in existence for 20 years and the director is Christian Suhr. Ray has played here many times. On one visit a few years ago, Christian challenged Ray to write a song based on a section from Hamlet which led to the song Land Of Heroes on the album of the same name.

Tonight, Ray began with Even For A Shadow which not only summed up the drive we had today but also the welcomes we have received at every venue on this tour.

Ray continued with Black Is The Colour Of My True Loves Hair. It is a well known song and its’ origin leads to a very good story. Collected in the 1930’s in the Appallachian Mountains, does it come from Ireland, Scotland or a small town just 24 km from where Ray lives in Sweden? Come to one of Ray’s shows for the full story.

Travelogue

Sunday was a five hour drive. We started through rolling low hills and then the storm , which was moving south, caught up with us bringing heavy rain. 

Most vehicles drive with lights on but occasionally some idiot appears without lights. We put on the fog lights. 

Nearing Darmstadt the weather started to clear. Then we were out onto very flat farmland and the small village of Riedstadt. When we came out of the theatre after the show, the sky was full of stars. It’s been quite a day.