Brecht’s „Lesson“ marked the arrival of materialist dialectics on the German stages, introducing a genuinely theatrical concept of historical materialism. In this teaching play the participants are collectively educated in political consciousness by “performing a play”. With his new production, Frank Castorf goes right back to the roots of dialectics, exploring the catastophe potential of modernity. There are four crashed pilots:
"Wir vergaßen über den Kämpfen / Unsre Namen und unser Gesicht / Über dem Aufbruch / Vergaßen wir unsres Aufbruchs Ziel" [while fighting / we forgot our names and our sense of self/ while setting off /we forgot our goal] and a chorus asking who benefits from progress? It’s an investigation into whether humans help their kind. In a mutual conflict of interests, two clowns violently dismember arms and legs of the suffering Mr. Smith in an attempt to alleviate his pain. Finally, the head falls.
With: Kathrin Angerer, Margarita Breitkreiz, Hans Schenker, Mex Schlüpfer, Bernhard Schütz, Axel Wandtke, Ruth Rosenfeld, Dana Hoffmann (Sporan), Gesina Krebber (Sopran), Maren Claus (Sopran), Maja Lange (Alt), Helga Bartz (Alt), Petra Wunderling (Alt), Barbara Jaenichen (Alt), Marian Kalus (Tenor), Johann Binder (Tenor), Fritz Huste (Tenor), Frank Bauszus (Bass), Tobias Fischer (Bass), Jan Lentschke (Bass), Stefan Paul (Klavier), Martin Curth (Posaune), Christian Ahrens (Trompete), Gregor Fuhrmann (Cello) and Natalia Ladstätter (Geige)
Director: Frank Castorf
Stage Designer: Bert Neumann, Jochen Hochfeld
Costumes: Ulrike Köhler
Light Design: Torsten König
Dramaturgy: Sebastian Kaiser
