In front of his patron and respected critic King Louis XIV of France, Molière plays Molière playing in front of Louis XIV – an „impromptu play in Versailles“. It premiered in 1663. It’s a performative iteration of reality about the intricate relationship between artists, the state and censorship. Centuries later and with Russia as frame of reference, Mikhail Bulgakov invokes the biography of the French theatre maker and playwright, writing the piece “A cabal of hypocrites”. Initially censored in 1931, it finally premieres in Moscow in 1936. Bulgakov takes the part of Molière, King Louis XIV is Stalin. Now, what’s the situation today? Frank Castorf transposes this historically and politically double-referenced text into the present times ruled by the credo ‘anything goes’ in liberal societies. So, who is who?
Adapted from Mikhail Bulgakov with texts by Pierre Corneille, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Molière and Jean Racine.
Duration: 5h 15min, one break
With: Sophie Rois (Michail Bulgakow), Alexander Scheer (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin de Molière, berühmter Dramatiker und Schauspieler), Georg Friedrich (Ludwig der Große, König von Frankreich), Jeanne Balibar (Madeleine Béjart), Hanna Hilsdorf (Armande Béjart de Molière), Lars Rudolph (Marquis de Charron, Erzbischof der Stadt Paris), Jean-Damien Barbin (Marquis d’Orsini, Duellant, Spitzname „Potzblitz“ oder „Einäugiger“), Patrick Güldenberg (Jean-Jacques Bouton, Kerzenlöscher und Diener Molières), Rocco Mylord (Zacharie Moyron jung), Daniel Zillmann (Zacharie Moyron alt, berühmter Schauspieler im Liebhaberfach), Frank Büttner (Narr und Der Gerechte Schuster), Brigitte Cuvelier (Die Unbekannte), Jean Chaize (Der Unbekannte) and Sir Henry (Vater Bartholomäus)
Director: Frank Castorf
Stage Designer: Aleksandar Denic
Costumes: Adriana Braga
Costume Assistant: Sasha Thomsen
Light Design: Lothar Baumgarte
Music: Sir Henry
Camera: Andreas Deinert, Mathias Klütz, Kathrin Krottenthaler
Video Editing: Jens Crull
Sound: Klaus Dobbrick, Tobias Gringel
Boom Arm: Dario Brinkmann, William Minke
Dramaturgy: Sebastian Kaiser
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