Theatre | The 10 Selected Productions
By Wolfram Lotz
Burgtheater, Vienna
World premiere 6 September 2014
Die lächerliche Finsternis. Stefanie Reinsperger, Catrin Striebeck, Frida-Lovisa Hamann, Dorothee Hartinger © Reinhard Maximilian Werner
Author Wolfram Lotz uses Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” and Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” to enter into a collision course with the present. Dušan David Pařizek puts the pedal to the metal and as a result, it’s not just particles of reality that blow up in our faces, but wood shavings, too: Four splendid actresses proceed to shred the stage floor. There are many glimpses of the things that worry us: from coltan mining to the overfishing of the oceans, from the Balkan Wars to our relationship with Islam. The performance pits the anarchy of the theatre against the insanity of reality. “The impossible theatre is the eternal demand”, says Lotz. With great gusto, Pařízek takes this demand as seriously as possible.
Directed by, stage design Dušan David Pařízek
Costume design Kamila Polívková
Lighting design Felix Dreyer
Dramaturgy Klaus Missbach
With
Frida-Lovisa Hamann
Dorothee Hartinger
Stefanie Reinsperger
Catrin Striebeck