Exberliner Issue 171 May 2018

WHAT’S ON — Stage
THEATER-
TREFFEN
MAY 4-21
Mittelreich, Judith Buss
A crumbling bastion
of the White Male?
The Berliner Festspiele continues its march
to a more diverse Theatertreffen. By Daniel Mufson
Editor’s Choice
It’s back – Berlin’s Theatertreffen,
the spring theatre festival
that’s been showcasing the 10
most “notable” productions per season
in the German-speaking world
since 1964. The festival’s stated mission
has not overtly changed over
the years, but it has made important
reforms in response to certain
criticisms, like adding a side-section
that highlighs new voices (The
Stückemarkt) to remedy an obvious
neglect of new plays in favour
of big stage classics. The festival
has also become more diverse: four
members of this year’s (admittedly
all-white) seven person jury are
women; four of the 10 productions
had a female director or playwright;
and, for the second year, it’s hosting
a festival within a festival under the
English motto “Shifting Perspectives,”
which seems to deliberately
counteract the historical whiteness
of Theatertreffen with two performances
from the Middle East, two
from Africa, one from Brazil, and
one from Singapore. And it just
so happens that three of the most
intriguing productions this year are
breaking that white male template.
Most salient of all is Mittelreich,
directed by Anta Helena Recke, a
German woman of colour. Mittelreich
was a musical stage adaptation
of a novel that traces a family
of Bavarian innkeepers through
several generations, originally
directed by Anna-Sophie Mahler
and invited to the Theatertreffen
two years ago. Recke has created an
exact copy of that production but
cast actors of colour to take all the
roles in an attempt to subvert the
normative gaze of white German
theatergoers. It’s a must-see if for
no other reason than to understand
the fervent critical controversy it
inspired at its Munich premiere
last October.
In Beute Frauen Krieg, director
Karin Henkel tells the story of the
Trojan War from the perspective
of women who suffer its consequences,
making use of contemporary
adaptations of Euripides’
The Trojan Women and Iphigenia at
Aulis. Different actresses take turns
at playing Helena and Iphigenia,
recalling a cascade of female tribulations
and casting accusations at
the men they blame for them. The
production’s highlight may well
be seeing its German actresses
deploy their techniques alongside
the dynamic Brit Kate Strong,
who started dancing with the likes
of William Forsythe and Johann
Kresnick but has for years been
rocking Germany’s spoken theatre
with her charisma – appearing in
multiple productions that have
been invited to the Theatertreffen.
(She performs in English in this bilingual
production). Finally, Nobel
prize-winner Elfriede Jelinek takes
aim at more than just the patriarchy
in Am Königsweg (The Royal
Road), directed here with a lively
touch by Falk Richter. Written
in the wake of Trump’s election,
the play is less an excoriation of
ignorant, crass authoritarians
(although that’s there) and more
an examination of the inability
of those who know better to stop
them, with Europe coming under
the microscope, too. Between
these three Theatertreffen plays
and the non-European offerings of
“Shifting Perspectives”, you might
finish the festival feeling pessimistic
about the white patriarchies
they critique in the world at large,
but optimistic that at least one
bastion of white patriarchy, the
Theatertreffen itself, seems to
be evolving, however slowly, into
something else. ■
Beute Frauen Krieg May 6,7,8 Rathenau Hallen | Mittelreich May 17, 18 (with
English surtitles) Deutsches Theater | Am Königsweg May 12, 13 (with English
surtitles) Haus der Berliner Festspiele
DON’T MISS
Am Königsweg
Diehard fans of
Elfriede Jelinek will
want to check out
this staging of her
new Trump-inspired
play at the Deutsches
Theater, directed
by Stephan Kimmig,
in order to compare
it to the Falk Richter
staging invited to
the Theatertreffen.
May 7, 13 (with
English surtitles)
The Players
The Sophiensaele is
hosting Haifa-born
choreographer Edan
Gorlicki’s exploration
of gambling and
showmanship, which
won the jury and audience
awards at the
6 tage frei festival
in Stuttgart.
May 9, 19:30
Potsdamer Tanztage
Potsdam’s international
dance festival
is in its 28th year,
offering dance and
musical performances
as well as
workshops ranging
in style from dance
acrobatics to
Bollywood.
May 29-Jun 10
MAY 2018 35