Glanz und Elend der Kurtisanen

von René Pollesch nach Balzac • Screening

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You know, I once saw a famous actress, Fiona Shaw, whose show I was about to see, getting out of a cab in front of the stage door moments before the start of the performance. She was late, but seemed in no hurry at all. She got out, carrying at least ten shopping bags with Chanel and Vuitton written on them, quite the elegant act, very glamourous. For my part, I believed there was hardly any time left for the cigarette I was smoking. I had smoked hastily, but I also knew what I owed the street. Just like her. I didn’t know if it was even worth going inside. Would I get to see her on stage in the same great giveaway mood? After all, you’re not always capable of that in any situation. When are you even in a position to give anything – surely not at the stroke of eight o’clock, when the curtain goes up. I went in anyway, and there they all sat, eagerly awaiting her appearance. The curtain opened dramatically billowing and swinging from side to side, rather exaggerated and probably devised by this overrated guy, Stephen Daldry, even though it wasn’t one of his productions. And there she was: Fiona Shaw. Naked, with drooping shoulders and wet hair, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. I was, of course, utterly impressed by how quickly she had undergone this transformation, switching from one stage to the other. I didn’t like to think of how little time it would take her to fall out of bed at home and get up on the stage. In bed she’d probably have been as naked as she was now on stage. And I couldn’t have cared less for the difference, because being on stage or at home in the same outfit are, of course, different things. But what looked so radically different – her getting out of the cab and her standing naked on stage – was the same, obviously. Everyone outside on the street had secretly worshipped her, though no crowd of spectators had formed around her, but we could all sense the greatness of this cab performance. The high respect it held for the passers-by. If she’d worn a burlap sack heading for the stage door to put on her naked skin in exchange, the audience, who had not witnessed the spectacle of her getting out of the cab, would have been just as awed by her portrayal of this naked woman from antiquity. And why wouldn’t they be? After all, she had the means and skills to do it. Nobody expected her to be herself in the theatre. But sadly, on the street, we do. When an actress bows down in tears because she believes she’s still in character, all you can say is: No! She was just herself while being in character. This is the misunderstanding: that the question is always about how the role has impacted you, and not about your impact on the role. A great pavement performance should not be equated with the self-absorbed actor, whose self no longer serves as a means of exploring a role, but primarily as a means of searching for himself. And so they’re always being asked: “What has the role done with you?” Why don’t people ask what they have done with the role?

With: Franz Beil, Christine Groß, Birgit Minichmayr, Trystan Pütter and Martin WuttkeText and Directing: René PolleschSet Design: Bert NeumannCostume Design: Tabea BraunLighting Design: Lothar BaumgarteDramaturgy: Anna Heesen

Premiere on 6 September 2013 at the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-PlatzDuration:  1h 30 minutes

Next date:

• Date Thursday, 05/December/2024 19:30 bis 21:30
• Venue Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz - Großes Haus
• Address Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, 10178 Berlin-Mitte