Straightforward, serious and giving space to the text – the premiere of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” in Heiner Müller’s version on Saturday evening in the Linzer Kammerspiele struck a chord with literature lovers. From time to time blood squirts, occasionally body parts that have become ownerless fly around – apart from the moderate use of these horrors, the production by actor Stephan Suschke does not give in to the temptation to drown the stage in blood.
It’s dark, fog is wafting around, the throne of civil war and riot-torn Scotland is built of rags and corpses on Momme Röhrbein’s stage. Macbeth thirsts for victory in battle and, incited by a prophecy, for the crown. Encouraged by his ambitious wife, he kills King Duncan and becomes his successor. But it doesn’t stop with this one murder: In order to retain power, he has to eliminate accomplices and competitors. The trail of blood that he leaves behind him can hardly be hidden. Lady Macbeth increasingly goes insane while her husband has to realize that he is not invincible.
The adaptation of Heiner Müller’s Shakespeare classic came to the stage of the Kammerspiele. Stephan Suschke, who once worked as a director for the East German playwright, describes the difference himself as follows: “Shakespeare still had hope, Müller didn’t.” Müller’s Shakespeare is even more fatalistic and resigned to evil. The focus is less on the soul eaten away by murder and more on the dirtiness of power politics. Parallels to current world events are obvious, but Suschke leaves it up to the audience to think about it. No Putin hints, the martial coats and boots (costumes: Angelika Rieck) are more reminiscent of the Nazi era.
Excessive sensationalism is not Suschke’s thing. Of course, he can’t do without blood and chunks of human flesh in Macbeth either – but not at the expense of the depth. Ultimately, his staging focuses primarily on the language. The ensemble, above all Alexander Hetterle as Macbeth, is extremely confident in their lyrics, Macbeth’s whispered inner monologues are beautifully worked out, and he repeatedly pushes away his feelings of guilt and the panic of a paranoid serial offender whose crimes can gradually no longer be hidden. A banquet for his friend Banquo, who died violently, turns into a zombie ball. Theresa Palfi as Lady Macbeth, initially the ambitious driving force behind the murderous goings-on, can no longer wash away the blood that is on her hands.
The rest of the ensemble is active in several roles, overall the production is a very solid team effort. In addition to state theater fixed greats such as Alexander Julian Meile or Helmuth Häusler, two members of the drama studio also do well with an expressive Nils Thomas and Kaspar Simonischek, who is responsible for the sprinkled pinches of humour.
(SERVICE – “Macbeth” by Heiner Müller after William Shakespeare, staging: Stephan Suschke, stage: Momme Röhrbein, costumes: Angelika Rieck, music: Joachim Werner, dramaturgy: Martin Mader. With Alexander Hetterle (Macbeth), Theresa Palfi (Lady Macbeth ), Alexander Julian Meile (Banquo and others), Lutz Zeidler (Duncan and others), Klaus Müller-Beck (Lenox and others), Helmuth Häusler (Rosse and others), Christian Taubenheim (Malcolm and others), Angela Waidmann (Lady Macduff and others), Nils Thomas (Macduff, etc.), Kaspar Simonischek (Seyton, etc.) Further performances on June 8, 19, 24, 28, July 1, 5, 2022, Landestheater Linz, Kammerspiele. www.landestheater-linz.at)
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