Three performers in suits are on a mattress in a tiled pool

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Can one of William Shakespeare&lsquo;s goriest tragedy be funny? Director Johan Simons and his stupendous cast make the attempt in &ldquo;Macbeth&rdquo; &ndash; and create brilliant theatre.

Macbeth

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stefan-hunstein

Hunstein, Stefan

jens-harzer

Harzer, Jens

marina-galic

Galic, Marina

william-shakespeare

Shakespeare, William

koen-tachelet

Tachelet, Koen

florian-schaumberger

Schaumberger, Florian

greta-goiris

Goiris, Greta

<a href="${link:{uuid:{b0400403-9d98-499e-bd29-ac6852be58a9},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/S/johan-simons}}}">Johan Simons</a>&nbsp;– Director Nadja Sofie Eller&nbsp;– Stage Design Greta Goiris&nbsp;– Costume Design Florian Schaumberger&nbsp;– Video Bernd Felder&nbsp;– Lighting Design Koen Tachelet&nbsp;– Dramaturgy Friederike Harmstorf&nbsp;– Associate Director<h4>Cast</h4>Stefan Hunstein – Witch Jens Harzer – Witch / Macbeth / Duncan / Malcolm / Murderer Marina Galic&nbsp;– Witch / Lady Macbeth / Banquo / Macduff / Lady Macduff / Son

johan-simons

Simons, Johan

<a href="${link:{uuid:{b0400403-9d98-499e-bd29-ac6852be58a9},repository:{artists},path:{/bfs-mediathek/S/Johan-Simons}}}">Johan Simons</a>&nbsp;&ndash; Director 
Koen Tachelet&nbsp;&ndash; Text Version 
Nadja Sofie Eller&nbsp;&ndash; Stage Design 
Greta Goiris&nbsp;&ndash; Costume Design 
Florian Schaumberger&nbsp;&ndash; Video 
Bernd Felder&nbsp;&ndash; Lighting Design 
Koen Tachelet&nbsp;&ndash; Dramaturgy

<h4>With</h4>

Stefan Hunstein &ndash; Witch 1 
Jens Harzer &ndash; Witch 2 (Duncan, Macbeth, Malcolm, Murderer) 
Marina Galic&nbsp;&ndash; Witch 3 (Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, Lady Macduff, Son)

bernd-felder

Felder, Bernd

nadja-sofie-eller

Eller, Nadja Sofie

Can one of William Shakespeare‘s goriest tragedy be funny? Director Johan Simons and his stupendous cast make the attempt in “Macbeth” – and create brilliant theatre.

War hero Macbeth and his friend Banquo return from the battlefields. He is revered as a hero in his Scottish home and a group of weird creatures even predict that he will be king. But in order to reach the throne, he has to commit not just one, but several murders. Encouraged by his Lady, he sets to his bloody work until there is only one person left standing in his way &ndash; he himself. 
Director Johan Simons reads William Shakespeare&rsquo;s tragedy &ldquo;Macbeth&rdquo;, written between 1603 and 1607, as a comedy &ndash; and brings off a veritable theatrical coup. Marina Galic, Jens Harzer and Stefan Hunstein slip into all the parts with ease and virtuosity, turning this &ldquo;Macbeth&rdquo; into a celebration of the art of acting.

<h3>Statement of the Jury</h3>

It is basically an obvious idea, and now director Johan Simons has taken a spirited hold of it. He construes William Shakespeare&rsquo;s &ldquo;Macbeth&rdquo; as the prototype of the Theatre of the Absurd. Which is exactly what this horror play with all its improbabilities and its penchant for the supernatural and the cruelly grotesque has always been. Conceived as a farce, the tragedy shines in new splendour, bestowed not least by Marina Galic, Jens Harzer and Stefan Hunstein. They play all the roles and use the rapid transitions from one character to the next as opportunities for abstruse gags. As sad clowns, they don Shakespeare&rsquo;s characters like costumes while constantly intuiting the senselessness of it all. This lends their characters a surprising and, all their savagery notwithstanding, touching vulnerability. &ldquo;Fair is foul and foul is fair&rdquo;, is the witches&rsquo; announcement at the beginning of the play. Simons and his cast make this reversal of values work. The tragic is comical, the comical is tragic.

<a href="https://mediathek.berlinerfestspiele.de/en/theatertreffen/2024/statement-macbeth">To juror Sascha Westphal&rsquo;s video statement in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library (in German)</a>

<a href="${link:{uuid:{36456ab7-d518-4e49-a347-78d2311bc3bf},repository:{dam},path:{/bfs-de/indizierte-pdfs/DE/Theatertreffen/2024/Programmhefte/tt24_programmheft_macbeth.pdf}}}">Programme Booklet</a>&nbsp;(pdf, 7.1 MB)

Inszenierung

Production

Highlights of the Theatertreffen 2024

Theatertreffen

Theatertreffen 2024

Video zu Macbeth - 3sat

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In the Berliner Festspiele Media Library you will find live streams as well as audio and video recordings and texts relating to the events and themes of the Berliner Festspiele.

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Cast