William Shakespeare’s world-famous “Midsummer Night’s Dream” plays at the Linz State Theater not in the royal court of Athens, but in the schoolyard. In their version with the additional title “First Love” for young people aged 13 and over, which premieres on Friday at 6 p.m. in the Kammerspiele, Nele Neitzke and director Martin Philipp focus on young people.
Lysander and Demetrius fought over Hermia during the break, and as punishment all three and Helena are given the task of rehearsing the Shakespeare play “Pyramus and Thisbe”. In the original, this is the task of the six craftsmen in the forest. Two exchange students are supposed to help the students. Then the school caretaker shows up and uses his cleaning supplies to transform the schoolyard into an enchanted forest – and suddenly magic comes into play.
For “First Love,” all three divisions of the State Theater – drama, ballet and dance – are working together in one piece for the first time. Additionally challenging: dancers and musicians also have to speak texts, the actors have to dance and everyone has to sing. “Everyone has to get out of their comfort zone,” says Marc Reibel, who is responsible for the music and also plays a teacher. Reibel leads the five-piece band, plays the piano and has arranged the music, which comes from two operas by Henry Purcell. The themes of the piece are (first) love, but also identity and personal boundaries. The aim is also to introduce the audience to the art genres of opera, ballet and drama. “It’s a play about love,” says director Martin Philipp. “But also a piece about the love of theater.”
“First Love – a Midsummer Night’s Dream” (ages 13 and up) can be seen in the Landestheater’s Kammerspiele until June 23rd. Information is available on landestheater-linz.at
Author
Herbert Schorn
Editor culture and life
Herbert Schorn
