In the summer of spins in the Globe theatre in Neuss, again for a month, all to William Shakespeare. Festival Director Rainer Wiertz recommends in the interview-among other things-the Satire of “Macbett” by Ionesco.
Around 15,000 visitors annually come to the Globe theatre Neuss, at the Shakespeare Festival
Deutsche Welle: What is this year’s Shakespeare Festival brings to the stage?
Rainer Wiertz: We will show pieces of Shakespeare, of course, in English, the original language and in English. There are also guest appearances from Hungary, Poland and France, but will be. We will also have concerts: a pop Concert and an Opera concert.
This year’s program is purely European. Is it a coincidence?
I would not say that it is a coincidence. The idea was to put in the year of the European elections, a European accent. But I would like to try again next year, the American and the Asian region.
The Eastern European region is represented this year. So a “Richard III”-production of Maladype theatre from Budapest will be able to see in Neuss.
The Hungarian piece is a staging of a free theatre from Budapest. A very, very successful staging, because it is totally simple. There is only a small scaffolding on the stage and the actors to play around with this scaffolding or scaffold, and make a very intensive work, which I did not like exceptionally well, even though you understand the language of course as well, but we get English subtitles.
Also referred to political aspects?
In “Richard III.” there are always political aspects. Clearly, it’s about a man who wants to up and the to this path, on bodies and in their own family, but also outside of the own family of all grants out of the way, standing him on the way to the throne.
Then there is also a contribution from Poland, however, not a Shakespeare play, but one of the Romanian-French writer Eugène Ionesco, the father of the Absurd theatre – a Satire inspired by Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”.
Yes, the Ionesco piece, the nobody knows…”Macbett” by the main representative of the French Absurd theatre is a Rarissimum on the German stage. I have the Text in English just-second-hand acquire, to be able to him, then to Poland so that you can construct out of the subtitles for our performance. The theatre of the Absurd plays with situations that are not so provided. And the element of Surprise is always created out of this Comic-Relief situations. And, as we now have “Macbett” by Ionesco, this funny Situation that the characters do not happen, there are actually in the piece. For example, a Lady Duncan, the witch plays. Then, as Duncan is now dead by Macbeth, marries the widow, and, so, Lady Duncan, Lady Macbeth. The Whole plays in this staging of the theatre Papahema from Bialystokvon on a Golf course. And Golf courses were – maybe still is – also hubs for political actions. It has met, has considered, decisions are taken on the Golf course.
Rainer Wiertz in front of the Globe theatre in Neuss
What makes the Neuss Shakespeare Festival so special?
First of all, it is the only Shakespeare Festival in Germany. This is, of course, a differentiator and a difference to other Festivals. But it shows, above all, the bandwidth of Shakespeare and his impact. We show not only Shakespeare but also his contemporaries, modern adaptations, or music that deals with Shakespeare. And in this respect, the bandwidth goes through the 36 plays of Shakespeare. And especially is that there are always productions that are so different, where one is really surprised that you get to see the at all now.
You travel a lot and watch a lot of theatre productions. What are the criteria to choose the pieces?
In addition to different criteria – for example, if you had a piece of often already or not yet and really, really want to show – and such a rather external criteria is always the quality at the first place. It must have high quality, so I’ll leave it here. You must always bear in mind, people don’t just come from Cologne and Düsseldorf, but also from Aachen and Münster, are so under circumstances, an hour or more with the car on the way to experience the performances. And since I don’t think it’s important that you disappointed the people.
Scene from “Macbett”, a staging of the theatre Papahema from Poland
And the originality of the staging, I suppose: There are Shakespeare plays, which are shown in several productions – “Much Ado About Nothing” (“a Lot of noise ums nothing”), for example. In the opening of the festival, as a Co-production of Northern Broadsides, Halifax and New Vic Theatre, and towards the end with the HandleBards from London.
“Much Ado About Nothing” is a piece that is always current, because it plays in a post-war situation. And the production by Northern Broadsides has fascinated me because it is laid in the year ’45 and the soldiers come back, as in the Text, from the war and now want to live simply, to love women, want to laugh, want to dance. And Yes, up to a certain point, as the evil brother slandered then the bride-to-be, and it seems to come to a bad end to what can be averted.
You run this Festival for almost 30 years now. There are even pieces that were not shown in the Neuss Shakespeare Festival?
There are actually, after all these years still pieces I haven’t shown, for example, the historical play “Richard II”. This is a desideratum, but it is rarely listed. You must keep in mind that the English troops would perform in the Original, are all free groups. And if it is staged as a free group a “Hamlet”, then you know that you can sell to seven English castles in the summer. If you are “staging Richard II”, then you get maybe three games. Not rich then, in order to Finance the piece.
Every year, there are several theatre productions from the UK, occurring in the Neuss Globe. The Brexit is a topic that concerns all of us intensively in the last time. And also artists from the Brexit-the country Worry about the consequences Leaving the EU for you and your work. The theme also appears in Guy Retallacks staging – “Twelfth Night”/ “What you want” – to play from the London Bridge House, a role. Will make it difficult for a Brexit, the participation of British productions?
Due to the threat of a Brexit and all the unanswered questions it can lead to problems at immigration (Visa, customs etc.). However, I don’t expect it to.
On 7. July is children’s-Shakespeare-a day in Neuss, Germany. Shakespeare’s language and world is easy to convey to a?
The children’s Shakespeare day is to provide exciting stories, to tell the time, to show the Globe Theater and to game and fun for a casual to have access to Shakespeare. The language plays a minor role.