A Friend for Boltan the Lion

on the children’s book
by Klaus Kordon + Pieter Kunstreich
for adults + children older than 6

Two musical adventure stories about the difficult but not impossible friendship between a lion and a camel. Features saxophone and cello.
Boltan the lion is the king of all the animals in an oasis deep in the vast, scorching desert. Since all the other animals are scared of him, Boltan is horribly bored.He comes across a seriously dehydrated camel. This creature is not afraid of death, and Boltan’s interest is awakened when the camel begins to tell stories. The two become best friends.
The jealous desert fox Abdul’s niggling succeeds in tearing the friends apart: “What a ridiculous excuse for a lion! How can a beast of prey be friends with a camel?” Sensing his lion’s honour at stake, Boltan decides he will hound the camel to death, and the chase continues until their path crosses that of a caravan of men and camels. This is where the real adventure begins; they struggle with the human beings, but are betrayed, captured and finally they experience liberation and escape. As a result, they discover that their friendship can pass every test, and the lion stands by his friend.
Boltan’s yearning for a family and an alluring lioness with an apparent dislike of camels are at the heart of the second story. Does this mean the end of Boltan’s friendship with Murat the camel? Boltan is faced with a choice…

Erik Schäffler + Uwe Schade
Translation into English: Karen Waloschek
Available in German + English: TheaterStückVerlag Korn-Wimmer & Wimmer, München

An audio recording of ‘A Friend for Boltan the Lion’ is available in German and English from www.ilisten.de.

the North Rhine-Westphalian Traumspiele Prize
+ a filming by the ZDF in 1998

Press
“There is NOTHING at all, and yet, EVERYTHING is there…the combined stage presence and highly expressive precision of this duo, which consists of a musically gifted actor and a musician with a talent for acting, have made a piece of theatre that is fabulously simple and so, simply fabulous. Never has there been a more deserving winner of the North Rhine-Westphalian ‘Traumspiele’ Festival Prize…”
Theater der Zeit – June 2000