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June 3, 4
Place des Arts
Théâtre Maisonneuve
German : 4h50 with intermission
F & E surtitles
Coproduction : Wiener Festwochen
Copresentation : Place des Arts |
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Theatre of Turbulence
In order to dismantle the totalitarian logic of Big Brother, Frank Castorf gives a hard-core edge to soap opera, employing a reality TV approach to this presentation, which is loosely based on Dostoyevsky’s first great novel, The Insulted and Injured, written upon his return from exile and imprisonment in Siberia for subversion. The set is an imposing affair, a massive structure worthy of a Hollywood movie lot, complete with screens and live musicians. It pivots to reveal a glass house on one side and a shack on the other. The forestage features a patio and a pool enmeshed in ice. This sordid tale of power, sex and money slips, slides and falls apart at the seams. Scrutinized, tracked and pursued by microphones and cameras hidden everywhere, even under the pillows, the characters dash about like flies caught in a web of intrigue. Overhead, a giant screen disgorges a flood of commercials and ads interspersed with porno films. Hypnotized by roars of bitter laughter, the audience dances with wolves.
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© Thomas Aurin
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One of Frank Castorf’s most accomplished plays [...] Castorf works like a contemporary graphic designer. The line is taut, the actors are splendid. A magnificent (re)discovery ! The Gazette
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| BY |
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Fiodor Mikhaïlovitch Dostoyevsky |
| ADAPTATION AND DIRECTION |
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Frank Castorf |
| SET AND COSTUME DESIGN |
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Bert Neumann |
| MUSIC |
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Sir Henry |
| VIDEO |
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Jan Speckenbach |
| LIGHTING DESIGN |
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Rainer Casper |
| DRAMATURG |
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Carl Hegemann |
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| CAST |
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Kathrin Angerer
Hendrik Arnst
Susanne Düllmann
Henry Hübchen
Astrid Meyerfeldt
Milan Peschel
Irina Potapenko
Bernhard Schütz
Jeanette Spassova
Joachim Tomaschewsky
Martin Wuttke
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Frank Castorf and the company Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Volksbühne, the People’s Theatre
Founded in 1914 by a workers’ association, the Volksbühne is one of the symbols of Berlin. In 1992, following in the footsteps of Max Reinhardt, Erwin Piscator and Beno Besson, Frank Castorf took over as director of the theatre, reviving the revolutionary, avant-garde tradition of the place. Attracting both kudos and controversy, he has managed to crystallize passions with performances that are provocative, political, decadent and extremely popular, generating lively interest among Berliners of all generations.
The brief but sensational presentation of Endstation Amerika by the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg Platz at last year’s Théâtres du Monde event made audiences hungry for more. The anti-conformist German theatre director Frank Castorf is back in force in Montreal.
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