Georg Büchner’s play meets Tom Waits’s darkly enigmatic songs.
Play by Georg Büchner. Songs and lyrics by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan.
Concept by Robert Wilson. Version of the text by Ann-Christin Rommen and Wolfgang Wiens
Performed in German and English
Premiere
7. June 2024
Dates & Cast
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Woyzeck Martin Gerke
- Marie Franziska Schuster
- Ausrufer · Hauptmann · Karl Christian Venzke
- Ausruferin · Doktor · Margreth · Großmutter Bettina Weichert
- Ausrufer · Andres · Tambourmajor Til Ormeloh
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Woyzeck Martin Gerke
- Marie Franziska Schuster
- Ausrufer · Hauptmann · Karl Christian Venzke
- Ausruferin · Doktor · Margreth · Großmutter Bettina Weichert
- Ausrufer · Andres · Tambourmajor Til Ormeloh
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Woyzeck Martin Gerke
- Marie Franziska Schuster
- Ausrufer · Hauptmann · Karl Christian Venzke
- Ausruferin · Doktor · Margreth · Großmutter Bettina Weichert
- Ausrufer · Andres · Tambourmajor Til Ormeloh
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Woyzeck Martin Gerke
- Marie Franziska Schuster
- Ausrufer · Hauptmann · Karl Christian Venzke
- Ausruferin · Doktor · Margreth · Großmutter Bettina Weichert
- Ausrufer · Andres · Tambourmajor Til Ormeloh
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Woyzeck Martin Gerke
- Marie Franziska Schuster
- Ausrufer · Hauptmann · Karl Christian Venzke
- Ausruferin · Doktor · Margreth · Großmutter Bettina Weichert
- Ausrufer · Andres · Tambourmajor Til Ormeloh
- Conductor Max Renne
- Staging Manfred Weiß
- Co-Regie & Choreography Natalie Holtom
- Set Design & Costume Design Timo Dentler, Okarina Peter
- Lighting Design Marco Dietzel
- Dramaturgy Martin Lühr
- Woyzeck Martin Gerke
- Marie Franziska Schuster
- Ausrufer · Hauptmann · Karl Christian Venzke
- Ausruferin · Doktor · Margreth · Großmutter Bettina Weichert
- Ausrufer · Andres · Tambourmajor Til Ormeloh
In brief
A mentally disturbed man, a dehumanized society and a shattered relationship – two dead people and an orphan at the end. That is the material that Georg Büchner left behind 1837 in his fragmented play Woyzeck. The internationally renowned singer and composer Tom Waits, the songwriter Kathleen Brennan and the theatre artist Robert Wilson created in 2000 a gripping musical theatre out of Büchners scenes, filled with cynicism and a deep longing for happiness. Waits and Brennan wrote for these scenes touching and unsettling songs somewhere between ballad, chanson and moritat, which sometimes take on the character of a slow love duet, sometimes that of a merciless chase. Manfred Weiß brings this play to the stage of Semper Zwei for the first time.
Storyline
The soldier Franz Woyzeck is shaving his captain, who criticizes him for his illegitimate child. Woyzeck suffers from persecutory delusions, hears noises, and feels continually harried. His mistress Marie, who takes care of their child, has become increasingly distanced from Woyzeck and welcomes the advances of a drum major.
Woyzeck makes himself available to a doctor for medical experiments. Meanwhile, the drum major presents Marie with earrings that she cannot hide from Woyzeck. His condition is deteriorating, and in his jealousy he even becomes violent towards Marie.
In the tavern garden Marie and the drum major dance with each other publicly. The mentally handicapped Karl smells blood in the air. The voices in Woyzeck's head which are telling him to stab Marie with a knife won’t leave him in peace. In vain, his friend Andres tries to calm him down.
After the dance, Woyzeck visits Marie and invites her for a nighttime walk. At a pond, he reminds them of the time they were happy together before stabbing her. Woyzeck wants to sink the knife deep into the pond and wades into the water. While they are walking, the captain and doctor hear the sounds of a drowning man.
The little child stays behind with Karl and Marie's neighbor Margreth.
