by Ivo Briedis (LV), Ceren Ercan (TR), Goran Ferčec (HR), Lothar Kittstein (DE), Alexander Molchanov (RU), Marie Nimier (FR)
In a society where only one can be powerful, Macbeth struggles with the unconditional will for power, with the unsolvable entanglement in guilt, with the indomitable nature. Violence and fear, hope and despair drive him. Shakespeare’s probably bloodiest parable on the abysses of human existence challenges us to take stock of social conditions and urges us to take a stand. In concrete terms, this applies to a Europe in a state of turmoil – struggling for democracy, between autonomy and heteronomy, in danger of being torn apart by the “dark” forces of the market, losing itself in claims, only with difficulty able to maintain its structures.
Enough reasons for the production consortium fringe ensemble / phoenix5 to choose this material and a European team of authors for their second project in the series “The Great World Theater”. Six authors from six countries were commissioned to write a text based on the Shakespearean drama. They agreed on some “rules of the game”: Each text should contain one line from the original Shakespeare text. An individually chosen situation, constellation or character from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” should be the recognizable basis for the own play and: The place is one’s own country. The time is now.
MACBETH OVER EUROPE is a project by fringe ensemble/Macbeth GbR and phoenix5 in co-production with theaterimballsaal, Bonn, FFT Düsseldorf, and Theater im Pumpenhaus, Münster. Sponsored by: Ministry for Family, Children, Youth, Culture and Sports of the State of NRW, Federal City of Bonn, City of Münster, Kunststiftung NRW, Kulturstiftung Matrong.