"Are You Sitting Comfortably?" - on the tenth anniversary of Roger Willemsen's death

Marking ten years since the death of Roger Willemsen - great reader, thinker and storyteller

Roger Willemsen and books - theirs was a passionate, inexhaustible love affair. From his estate comes the newly published Liegen Sie bequem? Vom Lesen und von Büchern, edited by Insa Wilke. In it, Willemsen talks about reading - with sparkling irony, an analytical eye and above all an infectious enthusiasm. He pays tribute to great authors, mocks the literary establishment, sets out "10 rules for readers" and reflects on fairy tales, obscenity and human rights. The evening with Maria Schrader and Jens Harzer is a tribute to everyone who reads, thinks and questions. An invitation to wonder: a celebration of reading, language and insatiable curiosity about the world. And we meet him once more - the great friend of ideas - as a passionate advocate for literature: witty, clear-sighted and deeply human.

Jens Harzer spent 16 years in Dieter Dorn's ensemble at the Münchner Kammerspiele and Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel. In 2009 he moved to Thalia Theater Hamburg, and later worked closely with Johan Simons at Schauspielhaus Bochum. Since autumn 2025 he has been at the Berliner Ensemble. His film work includes collaborations with Michael Verhoeven, Tom Tykwer, Wim Wenders and Hermine Huntgeburth. He has held the Iffland-Ring since 2019.

Maria Schrader, born 1965, is an actress, screenwriter and director. Her work has earned her numerous awards, including the German Film Prize, the Silver Bear at the Berlinale and the German Audiobook Prize. As a director she gained international recognition with "Vor der Morgenröte"; the Netflix miniseries "Unorthodox" brought her a Primetime Emmy for best direction of a miniseries in 2020.