Subscribe now to Folha and get unlimited access to real-time news, 150 columns and exclusive newsletters! Exclusive offer, don’t miss out!
AVIGNON, FRANCE (FOLHAPRESS) – A leading figure in contemporary theater, the German Thomas Ostermeier, 56 years old, artistic director of the prestigious Schaubühne company in Berlin, knows exactly what he wants from art. That’s why he certainly doesn’t bother with false modesty. Seated in one of the halls of the Grand Opera of Avignon, he punctuates his answers with some self-praise, dramatic laughter, and uses expressions such as “my theater” or “my aesthetic.”
That night, the director had just presented his “The Wild Duck,” a classic by the Norwegian Henrik Ibsen, considered the most anticipated show of the 79th edition of the Avignon Festival, which is currently taking place in the south of France. A provocateur from the start, Ostermeier became a fierce critic of post-dramatic theater, that which has no story or characters.
In this regard, it occupies even a solitary position, if we consider the programming of this year’s festival. “My theater does not put aesthetics before everything. My theater puts the ‘why’ first. Why tell a certain story? What is the question we would like to share with the audience? We do not offer answers, but questions,” says Ostermeier, interrupting the interview, then, annoyed, demanding absolute silence in the hall. “Being connected to a narrative is the big revolution in today’s world. This deconstructed theater was a phase accomplished in the 1980s. I think continuing with it today is falling into mannerism.”
Known for his left-wing positions, Ostermeier, as always, presents political reasons for opposing post-dramatic performances. According to him, these productions do not offer a critique of capitalism. “I have denounced this kind of performance, which does not promote reflection, but only describes the terrible situation of our society, keeping capitalism functioning, just as socialist realism kept the Soviet Union functioning,” he says. This commitment is felt here and there in the production of “The Wild Duck.”
For example, the scene, placed on the Italian stage, is located on a rotating structure. On one side, we observe the rich family of the story, and on the other, a very poor house. It is a visual representation that can be associated with the most elementary dialectical thought.
Written in 1884, the play, which premiered the following year in Bergen, Norway, tells of the hell of Hjalmar Ekdal’s life, a frustrated photographer, now portrayed by actor Stefan Stern. One night, he and his father, the old Ekdal, played by Falk Rockstroh, are invited to go to the residence of the powerful Werle family, with whom they have maintained an friendship for years.
At that time, Hakon Werle, played by Thomas Bading, offers a dinner in honor of his son, Gregers, portrayed by Marcel Kohler. At one moment, Hjalmar and Gregers are alone and have a private conversation.
It is from there that the photographer begins to realize that his entire life is a farce. He claims to have received financial help from Hakon Werle, which made his marriage possible. Surprised, Gregers goes to talk to his father and discovers more information. Gradually, he acts as a champion of the truth, making his friend confront the lies of his life.
The photographer discovers that his wife, Gina, played by Marie Burchard, is the ex-mistress of Hakon, from whom she receives a monthly allowance to keep the family’s accounts in order. Worse still, Gregers, always so enthusiastic about the truth, lets Hjalmar know that Hedvig, portrayed by Magdalena Lerner, is not his daughter but Hakon’s, finally causing a terrifying tragedy at the end of the story.
As a precursor of realistic theater, Ibsen already explored elements of symbolism in this play. This title, which may sound strange, refers to Hedvig’s pet animal. As it appears in the text, the wild duck serves as a metaphor for all of us who live in the mud of the river, surrounded by lies without which we cannot live. It is the concept of vital lie, created by Ibsen. It is interesting that, a decade after staging “An Enemy of the People,” a play by the same author, but about truth, Ostermeier now turns to the lie.
If ten years ago the director attacked fake news, now he is more interested in the drama of private life. “I defend the truth in the public sphere, but everyone lies a little in daily life. The vital lie prevents us from confronting our miserable state,” says the director. “At the core, the play says that one must be very strong to withstand chaos. It’s a show about moral chaos.”
Founded in 1962, the Schaubühne, which Ostermeier has directed for 30 years, is dedicated to staging classic plays and major contemporary texts, almost always with a political content. Regarding actors, the director says he likes to explore ambiguity as a strategy.
In “The Wild Duck,” for example, the cast develops the characters using the system of the Russian Constantin Stanislavski, and suddenly starts performing in the manner of the epic theater of the German Bertold Brecht. At the beginning of the year, he directed actress Cate Blanchett in a production of “The Seagull,” by Anton Chekhov.
She is a great theater animal, perhaps even better in theater than in cinema,” he says. Ostermeier claims to have a particular method for adapting classical texts. He respects the center of the narrative, but rewrites the edges of the drama, bringing the play into our times, something, according to him, that should not be done in opera. “I never go to an opera performance, because it has annoyed me too much. We cannot transform the context of Mozart into today’s world. I see people trying to live something that is dead. So, when I want to go to the opera, I go to concerts.
Ostermeir finally says he is in negotiations to bring to Brazil next year his adaptation of the novel “History of Violence,” written by the French author Édouard Louis. He boasts of having been the first to adapt his friend’s stories and claims to be now imitated by other directors.
Among the main works of Ostermeier’s career is his interpretation of “Hamlet” by Shakespeare, which is still commented on today. “People talk about this play because it was good. Have you seen my ‘Richard III’? It’s even better,” he says, laughing.
About The Author
