Nicolas STEMANN
Born 1968 in Hamburg. He is one of the representative directors of post dramatic theatre. Thanks to working as a musician, too, he can flexibly combine music, video and various media with performance. Strong images emerge from his simple stage that deeply shock audiences.
He has been invited as much as 6 times since 2002 to the Theatertreffen in Berlin, a festival that annually nominates 10 of the most remarkable productions premiered in Germany. He is regarded as one of the most renowned directors in contemporary German theatre. He won the 3sat award in the 2012 festival with his “Faust I+II” an unabridged version playing for more than 8 hours, He was also selected as “Director of the Year” awarded by the magazine “Theater Heute” the same year. In 2010 he directed his first opera at the Komische Oper Berlin. Currently, he works at Burgtheater Wien, and Schaubühne in Berlin as well as Thalia Theater, Hamburg.
3sat prize was awarded to Nicolas STEMANN in Berliner Theatertreffen!
You never knew
Just how interesting “Faust” is !
3sat prize was awarded to Nicolas STEMANN in Berliner Theatertreffen will land in Japan for the first time! In spite of having a running time of over 8 hours, it keeps the audience excited the whole time. Doctor Faust in tattered jeans and Mephistopheles in shabby old T-shirt… Representing the German speaking world, this young and distinguished acting duo play the genius and devil trying to fulfill each other’s desires. To top it off, one more character intrudes on stage…
Nicolas STEMANN
A flagman of post-drama theatre
An emphatically expressive piece the world must see!
Goethe started writing “Faust” at age 24, and kept writing until the age of 82.
When he finished, he said “the rest of my life is like a prize thrown in”. And weeks later, that literary giant departed this world. The director STEMANN succeeded in making this “heritage of humanity” that GOETHE devoted his whole life to, into an inventive stage over flowing with creativity, doing without any possible framework.
Synopsis
Mephistopheles, a devil, makes a bet with God. Is it possible to bring down doctor Faust, who has academically pursued everything, and cast his soul into hell? Faust wants to tear the thread of thought. Always the intellectual, he had wanted to get to the bottom of that “which binds the world, and guides its course”, he has shared his knowledge with his devoted students – this life is no longer enough for him. He, the talented, wise, restless and unresting man, already potent, yearns for omnipotence. More and more drastic become his efforts to break the bonds of his inner prison, he leaves no stone unturned – in the end it is demonic wings which carry him into the outside world beyond. This “little world”, into which Mephisto introduces Faust, is primarily the world of Gretchen. Everything seems to inexorably compel Faust towards this young girl from the moment he sets eyes upon her. Intoxicated by unfamiliar emotions, intoxicated by himself, he must possess her, whatever the cost.
Information
26 April at 18:00
27 April at 13:00
At Shizuoka Arts Theatre
Duration: 200 minutes (with intermission)
In German with Japanese subtitles
◎ Pre-Performance Talk at the foyer on 26 and 27 April.
◎ Music improvisation session played by Nicolas STEMANN.
At 16:45 on 26 April / 12:00 on 27 April at foyer of Shizuoka Arts Theatre.
◎ Opening ceremony of the festival is held at the foyer at 17:15 on 26 April.
Staff/Cast
Directed by Nicolas STEMANN
Written by Johann Wolfgang von GOETHE
Performed by Philipp HOCHMAIR, Sebastian RUDOLPH, Maja SCHÖNE
Singer: Friederike HARMSEN
Dancer: Jonas CHRISTEN
Music / Musicians: Thomas KÜRSTNER, Sebastian VOGEL, Burkhard NIGGEMEIER
Chorus: KAGEYAMA Hisae, OTSUKA Nobuo, OBARA Yuhei, TAKEI Masatake, MASUDA Shinya, MATSUMURA Ryota, MIYAGAWA Aiichiro, MOCHIZUKI Shuma
Produced by Thalia Theater, Hamburg in coproduction with the Salzburg Festival
Stage design: Thomas DREIßIGACKER, Nicolas STEMANN
Costume design: Marysol DEL CASTILLO
Music: Thomas KÜRSTNER, Sebastian VOGEL
Video: Claudia LEHMANN
Choreography: Franz ROGOWSKI
Arrangements: Burkhard NIGGEMEIER, Sven KAISER
Dramaturgy: Benjamin von BLOMBERG
SPAC staff
Technical director : MURAMATSU Atsushi
Lighting : HIGUCHI Masayuki
Sound : KATO Hisanao, AOKI Ryosuke (US)
Wardrobe : KOMAI Yumiko
Stage : SAKATA Yukari, FURUYA Kazumi, HIROSAKI Nagiko, TAKEISHI Morimasa
Scenography : FUKASAWA Eri, MIWA Kaori
Production : SAEKI Kazato, TANJI Haru, HIRATA Dai
Subtitles : NIWAYAMA Yuka
Interpretation : GOTO Ayako
Supported by the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany
In cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Tokyo
Under the auspices of Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Japan
