With the help of his assistant Anja, Ottocaro Weiss intends to put the plague on stage: circumstances beyond his control and a lack of fresh talent have forced him to close down his flea circus. For Weiss, the plague means the «extinction of everything that makes life miserable and low and freedom along with it. Unbeknownst to him, he has won the support of a patron who is of the exact opposite opinion: for Johannes Wagner, the plague is an organising principle, and, aided by his agent Moosbrugger, he is able to smuggle a new number onto the programme. Whereas Ottocaro Weiss means to represent the plague theatrically, what appears on stage is the scientific reality of the rat-borne infestation.
Norbert Schwientek
Stephan MoosbruggerFrançois Simon
Ottocaro WeissGerhard Dorfer
Insurance agentWolfgang Rottsieper
GermanistPeter Kner
TV editorPaul Gogel
Johannes WagnerJanine Weill
Anja, artistGothard Dietrich
Ringmaster