Climate Engineering and Weather on the Stage [Klimaengineering und das Wetter auf der Bühne]

Abstract

The article explores the paradox of artificial weather in German theater, where playwrights wield control over weather while depicting it as a force beyond human influence. Analyzing Goethe’s Faust II, Brecht’s Der Flug der Lindberghs, and Jelinek’s Sonne/Luft/Asche, the article examines the evolution of weather staging technologies alongside real-world attempts at weather and climate manipulation. These plays illustrate the tension between humanity’s desire for control and nature’s inherent unpredictability, reflecting onstage the broader challenges faced in real-world climate interventions. By aligning the dramatic use of weather with historical and contemporary efforts to control it, the article highlights the limits of human mastery over the environment.