Little did I know when attending the press conference in June, that the Münchner Kammerspiele would be voted “Theatre of the Year 2019” by the critics of the highly esteemed theatre magazine “Theater heute” only two months later. “Theater heute” also chose the impressive 10-hour production Dionysos Stadt by Christopher Rüping as “Production of the Year”and Nils Kahnwald as “Actor of the Year” for the same production. Best newcomer awards went to Kammerspiele ensemble members Gro Swantje Kohlhof and Benjamin Radjaipour. Lena Newton‘s stage design for Susanne Kennedy’s adaptation of Three Sisters was also considered the year’s best work. A triumph for Artistic Director Matthias Lilienthal who presented his final season at the Kammerspiele.

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Director Christopher Rüping had always felt detached from ancient Greek drama. The chorus, the language, and the role of fate created an artificial world that had nothing to do with our reality. When watching Greek drama, he found that he began to be engaged by the play only when it was almost over. When those dramas were written, they were presented at the Dionysia, a drama competition (Agon) that went on for five days. Dionysia were ecstatic festivals with free wine and free food, starting early in the morning and going on until late at night. Christopher Rüping knew he could not recreate the Dionysia but he decided to be bold and to present a tetralogy, composed of three dramas and one satyr play. Ten hours of theatre would allow his antique drama to unfold.

Courtesy of Julian Baumann.

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Munich Kammerspiele – Season 2018/19

Justice is “out” and immortality is “in”.

Artistic Director Matthias Lilienthal presented the new season together with directors Christopher Rüping, Susanne Kennedy, and Trajal Harrell in June. Whilst the press were enjoying Lebanese pizza and wine, Lilienthal announced  thirteen new productions for 2018/19 of which seven would be world premieres.

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Cheryl Glickman is a single woman in her early 40s. Although successful in her job at a women’s self-defence company, she has self-esteem issues and suffers from a perpetual lump in her throat. Her obsession with her 60-year old colleague Phillip doesn’t help. Philip is more than willing to point her to a chromatherapist for her condition but this isn’t quite what Cheryl is hoping for. Instead of reciprocating Cheryl’s feeings, Philip is lusting after a 16-year old girl and asks Cheryl  for advice on his sexual advances.

Courtesy of David Baltzer.

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Christopher Rüping‘s distillation of Shakespeare’s most famous play places Hamlet in the here and now. His story is told by three Horatios, who take over all the parts in this heavily cut production.

Courtesy of Thomas Aurin.

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Almost 100 years ago, on 29th September, 1922, the Münchner Kammerspiele presented the world premiere of Trommeln in der Nacht (Drums in the Night) – the first play by Bertolt Brecht that was ever put on stage. Little has remained of that remarkable evening except for a few photographs and director Christopher Rüping keeps wondering what the world premiere might have looked like. Determined to use theatre as a time machine, he decides to try and recapture the spirit of the original without turning his production into a museum piece. He starts off by copying the style of almost 100 years ago, reviving the cast of a bygone era, thereby reinventing the world premiere.

Courtesy of Julian Bauman.

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