The dramas that rst unfolded in German writer Karl May's imagination more than a hundred years ago, in Llano Estacado, Silver Lake or on the banks of the Rio Pecos in New Mexico, are now played out in Bad Segeberg, which since 1952 has hosted the Karl May Festival. It is a tting venue, as the open-air stage set against a backdrop of gypsum and anhydrite clis provides a picturesque setting for Winnetou, Old Shatterhand and other familiar characters. The backdrop was under threat, however, as the clis were found to be crumbling and slipping, an entirely natural process caused by the action of frost on water pockets in porous rock. The clis had to be made safe. Ordinarily that would not present a problem for experts – except for the bats. The work had to be done when the theatre was clos

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