Leonce and Lena

Leonce from the Kingdom of Popo has everything a prince could wish for. Yet, feeling adrift in his jaded world, he finds pleasure only in spitting on stones, ending his relationship with his mistress Rosetta, and suffering as a result. It is only when his father, King Peter, announces his intention to marry Leonce to Princess Lena of the Kingdom of Pipi, a woman he has never met, that he takes the initiative. He flees to Italy with his shrewd and work-shy servant Valerio. Is it coincidence or is it fate - there he encounters his intended bride with her governess, who certainly hasn’t been given the easiest task with Lena. Leonce falls madly in love. Overwhelmed by such intense emotion, he resolves to take the ultimate step.
Meanwhile, the feeble-minded, absolutist King Peter prepares his kingdom for the forced wedding, naturally with great pomp and circumstance: “Vivat” is Latin, after all! Will Peter prevail and bring about the union of the tiny kingdoms of Pipi and Popo, or will the children continue to resist?

In his comedy, published in 1836, Georg Büchner paints a picture of a degenerate aristocratic society that any ordinary person could understand just as easily as his slogan “Peace to the huts, war on the palaces.” Using the tools of parody and satire, he not only circumvented censorship but also dissected the folly and absurdity of a ruling bureaucracy that, just like deference to authority, has become ingrained in the German DNA - Leonce and Lena still makes us laugh heartily today at pomp, authoritarianism, and ostentation.