Reform oder Revolution?
Staged reading of Peters Weiss’s play MARAT/SADE by the independent theater group Theater Gegendruck with live music and a panel discussion, moderated by Prof. Dr. Michael Hofmann
Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgruppe des Hospizes zu Charenton unter Anleitung des Herrn des Sade [The Persecution and Assassination of Jean Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade] was the full title of the play that, in the mid-1960s, made its author Peter Weiss world-famous overnight. To mark the 60th anniversary of MARAT/SADE’s world premiere at the Schillertheater in West Berlin, the independent theater group Theater Gegendruck now presents its staged reading of a modern classic at the ZfL.
In MARAT/SADE, inmates at the Charenton asylum stage the French Revolution under the direction of the Marquis de Sade. The play centers on the still current dispute between the revolutionary Marat and the Marquis de Sade. Revolution or reform? How considerate or bold should or may a society respond to challenges? Individualism and pleasure in life oppose the necessity to fight for a fundamentally different world.
MARAT/SADE is a wild mix of tragedy and farce, of “theater within theater” and historical drama.
The independent theater group Theater Gegendruck from Recklinghausen is known for its productions of plays by Peter Weiss. The ensemble of the stage reading features Desiree Baier (puppetry) and Claudius Reimann (live music), among others.
Panel discussion with:
- Farah Boaumar (Berlin/Paderborn), film maker and literary scholar
- Johannes Thorbecke (Recklinghausen), director of Theater Gegendruck
- Arnd Beise (Fribourg), literary scholar and chairperson of the Internationale Peter Weiss-Gesellschaft
- moderator: Michael Hofmann (Paderborn), literary scholar and deputy chairperson of the Internationale Peter Weiss-Gesellschaft
Entry is free of charge without prior registration.
Fig. above: Theater Gegendruck: MARAT/SADE, © Matthias Schilling