Once upon a time, there was a fairy tale brother named Grimm – but not Jacob or Wilhelm, rather Ferdinand. Little known, yet he was also a gifted storyteller: His tales are brimming with magic, giants, spirits, and vengeful dwarfs.

However, in his own family, Ferdinand was considered an outsider. His brothers called him the "lazybones" and "window peeper." Although he supported Jacob and Wilhelm in collecting their fairy tales, he published his own texts only under a pseudonym. At Christmas in 1810, there was a scandal: Ferdinand publicly confessed to his homosexuality – a family scandal. The rift was deep, and the relationship with his brothers remained difficult. Only Jacob visited him once more on his deathbed and saved his writings.

Now, Ferdinand's fairy tales, letters, and texts are being brought out of the archive: For the first time, August and Johannes Zirner – father and son – are together on stage reading from his work as well as from the family correspondence.

Musically, they are accompanied by the internationally celebrated Edgar Knecht Trio, which translates Ferdinand's texts into sound, engages in dialogue with them, and creates emotional resonance spaces.

The venue is the Stift Fischbeck on the German Fairy Tale Route – a place with a long history and special atmosphere. Since the year 955, women have lived here in a Christian community, preserving the Stift and continuing to tell its story to this day.

An evening about storytelling, being different – and a Grimm who finally finds an audience.