| Mauser |
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Theodoros Terzopoulos Polish premiere Event rescheduled! Tue-Wed 9–10 October 8pm Fri-Sat 12–14 October 8pm Thu-Sat 18–20 October 8pm
Na Grobli Studio Tickets: 30 PLN, concessions 20 PLN Mauser is a watershed play in Heiner Müller’s oeuvre: it closes, in a manner of speaking, the period of his “didactic plays” and “plays about the industrial revolution” and opens a period in which Müller turned to more radical literary and scenic experimentation. Inspired by the didactic play The Measure and by the aesthetics of Japanese Noh theatre, Mauser is set during the Russian civil war between the Bolsheviks and the Tsarists. The drama depicts a unique trial whose main characters are A and B, executioners in the service of a revolution that ultimately turns against them. They are obliged to apologize in front of the chorus-court and are punished with death (B because he was charitable with three peasants who were naive rather than hostile; A because he had become a death machine incapable of controlling his actions and considering violence as a necessary tool in the process of creating a new, peaceful society. Finally, Mauser emphasizes the primitive violence that is very likely to arise in the course of any revolution, diverting it, even temporarily, from its original aims and calling into question its future fulfillment. Within this framework the social phenomenon of revolution acquires – apart from its political aspects – an intensely ontological dimension. Written in verse and stylistically innovative, Mauser was first presented in 1975 in Austin, USA. It remains relevant today as hostile groups and nations still resort to war and civil conflict as a means of domination.  TEXT: Heiner Müller TRANSLATION: Mateusz Borowski, Ma³gorzata Sugiera DIRECTOR, ADAPTATION, INSTALLATION, LIGHTING: Theodoros Terzopoulos ASSISTANT: Antonios Myriagkos ACTORS: Jolanta Góralczyk, Przemys³aw Wasilkowski, Przemys³aw B³aszczak, Marcin Misiura, Mateusz Smaczny, Bartosz Bielenia PHOTOINSTALLATION: Johanna Weber MUSIC: Panagiotis Velianitis “Mauser” – timeline • September 2010: first auditions for Theodoros Terzopoulos’ production of Heiner Müller’s Mauser • 2–3 January 2011: second audition • 4–5 January 2011: workshop for the actors selected through auditions, led by Theodoros Terzopoulos • 29–30 August 2012: third audition • 31 August – 8 October 2012: rehearsals • 9–10, 12–14, 18–20 October 2012: premiere performances |