This bold and challenging work is compelling theatre of the highest calibre
Judges' comments, 2012 Dunedin Fringe Festival
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In Hereafter, author and filmmaker Werner Fritsch, described by the German magazine Der Spiegel as “Germany’s boldest poet”, dares to go deep down into the soulscape of a man who all his life was under the spell of the underworld.
Wolf “Sexmachine” Bold, who is a suspect for the murder of his wife Cora, the mother of his son Felix, is beyond reality and hallucination, perhaps even beyond his own body. Before the police can arrest him he is threatened by somebody hiding behind a carnival mask of Hitler and holding a revolver to his head. But who is the man behind the mask? Director Peter Falkenberg has translated and adapted this radical monologue in which a man reflects in seconds of horror on what remains in his memory and what dominates our pictures of sex and violence. Hereafter uses video to provide a Christchurch context from an underworld point of view and juxtaposes the often inarticulate male voice with a female singing voice and double-bass that comment upon, balance, counteract and provide an emotional subtext to the production. This project is a continuation of the collaboration between Fritsch and Free Theatre that in 2008 led to Faust Chroma, nominated for Most Original Production at the 2009 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards and described by Radio New Zealand’s Lynn Freeman as “mindblowing”, “gutsy” and “quite unlike anything I’ve seen before”. In cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, Werner Fritsch was in residenence in Christchurch during the development of this work and for its premiere on February 22nd at The Tannery where he was present for a post-show discussion. During his stay, Fritsch was again hosted by Te Puna Toi (Theatre and Film Studies, UC), which organized a preview of Fritsch’s film Faust Sonnengesang. |
ReviewsChallenging theatre for those with the stomach for it
Terry MacTavish, Theatreview Dunedin Making the conceptual and experiential link between performance on stage and performance in the gallery Jonathon Marshall, Theatreview, Dunedin A challenge to leave our comfort zones Lin Clark, Theatreview Christchurch Hereafter Nicole Howard, CANTA Voices in the rubble Adele Publicity |
