With the uncompromising vision that won him the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale for his entire oeuvre, the legend of European theatre Thomas Ostermeier visits Cyprus for the first time, giving new meaning to the term “mad genius”.
From its mud-splattered, rain-soaked opening, Thomas Ostermeier’s “Hamlet” delivers on its reputation as one of the great interpretations of Shakespeare. Pop music, drag shows and duels in the royal courtyard coexist harmoniously in the frenetic, legendary production of Schaubuhne’s world-class Berlin theatre, which comes to the Nicosia International Festival having received international acclaim in its world tour.
Cult Shakespearean star Lars Eidinger (Richard III) gives an unforgettable, no-holds-barred performance as the Dane, gliding between Hamlet’s famous soliloquies and raucous improvisations as he swears, schemes, and videotapes.
In Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet is going crazy. His father has died suddenly of a strange disease, and his mother has married her deceased husband’s brother, of all people, after just one month. Hamlet has nighttime visions of his father, who claims his brother poisoned him, and exhorts Hamlet to take revenge and kill his new stepfather. Shakespeare represents the Danish royal court as a corrupt political system which becomes a paranoid maze for Hamlet. Murder, betrayal, manipulation, and sexuality are the weapons used in the war to preserve power.
Biography of Thomas Ostermeier
He was born in 1968 in Soltau. He studied directing at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst “Ernst Busch” in Berlin. He worked as an actor, assistant director, and director. He was artistic director of Baracke at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin.
Since September 1999 Ostermeier has been the Artistic Director of the Schaubühne. He has also directed several productions at the Münchner Kammerspiele, including: “Der starke Stamm” by Marieluise Fleißer, “Vor Sonnenaufgang” by Gerhart Hauptmann, “Die Ehe der Maria Braun” by Rainer Werner Fassbinder and “Susn” by Herbert Achternbusch. In November 2004 he was appointed “artiste associé” for the Avignon Festival by the artistic director of the Festival, Vincent Baudriller, and since then he has regularly presented performances at the festival. It should be noted that his productions tour worldwide.
Distinctions
Some of his award-winning plays include “Nora” (2003), with the “Nestroy” and “Politika” awards, “Hedda Gabler” (2006), with the Berlin Theatergemeinde Audience Award, and “Little Foxes”, in 2015, with the same award. “John Gabriel Borkmann” and “Hamlet” have been awarded international awards as the best productions of the 2008/2009 season. In Chile, “Hamlet” was awarded the Critics’ Prize as “Best International Production 2011”, in Turkey with the Honorary Award of the 18th Istanbul Theatre Festival in 2012 and Tehran as Best Director at the FADJR International Theatre Festival in 2016. Further, in 2017, Ostermeier was awarded the “Premio della Critica Teatrale” for his production of Richard III and in 2019 for Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” at the Comédie-Française with the “Prix Molière” for the best performance of the season.
Among other things, in 2009, he was appointed “Officier des Arts et des Lettres” by the French Ministry of Culture and promoted to the rank of “Commandeur” in 2015, while in 2011 he received the Golden Lion of the Venice Biennale for all his work. Also, in 2016 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Kent for his contribution to European theatre.
Reviews
The international press wrote about Ostermeier’s “Hamlet”:
“Hamlet» doesn’t seem a minute out of date, partly because of his fine stagecraft, partly because as older Eidinger gets, the more his over-the-top attitude in the role works”.
(Helen Shaw, The New Yorker)
“And yet it is still possible to surpass “Hamlet”, to create a production with even more spilled blood, more graveyard dirt, and more madness than Shakespeare has already offered. For better or worse, this is Thomas Ostermeier’s production of Hamlet at Berlin’s Schaubühne: The Danish prince unleashes himself, like a rabid dog, on the stage».
(Maya Phillips, The New York Times)
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a strong start [to Hamlet]. The horror leaps out at you from nowhere, without warning. A handful of people stand around an open grave under streaming rainfall”.
(Rüdiger Schaper, Der Tagesspiegel, July 11th, 2008)
“The text is suddenly living again. It seems to come alive again as if spoken for the first time. This is largely due to Marius von Mayenburg’s tightly strung, kitschless and wonderfully clear new translation”.
(Peter Laudenbach, tip Berlin, October 2nd, 2008)
“Thomas Ostermeier’s Schaubühne production shines the same forensic light on Shakespeare as he previously brought to bear on Kane and Ibsen. The result is brash and noisy, sometimes infuriating, frequently illuminating, occasionally heart-stopping and never, not even for the tiniest moment, dull”.
(Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, December 2nd, 2011)
“This is a ripping-up of the rule book – if there were ever any rules to staging Shakespeare […] All boundaries have broken down. […] More than anything, this mind-blowing, spit-hurling, earth-moving evening is about what theatre can do”.
(Kate Kellaway, The Guardian/The Observer, December 4th, 2011)
There will be two performances of “Hamlet” at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre, on Thursday 14/12/2023, at 20:30 and Friday 15/12/2023, at 18:30. It will be presented in German with subtitles in Greek and English. Strobe lights will be used during the performance.
Director: Thomas Ostermeier
German Translation: Marius Von Mayenburg
Stage Design: Jan Pappelbaum
Costume Design: Nina Wetzel
Music: Nils Ostendorf
Dramaturgy: Marius Von Mayenburg
Video: Sébastien Dupouey
Lighting Design: Erich Schneider
Fight Choreography: René Lay
Claudius; Geist: Urs Jucker / Thomas Bading
Hamlet: Lars Eidinger
Gertrud; Ophelia: Jenny König
Polonius; Osrik: Robert Beyer
Horatio; Güldenstern: Damir Avdic
Laertes; Rosenkranz: Konrad Singer
Production: Schaubühne Theatre Company
Duration: 165΄
Tickets: https://www.soldoutticketbox.com/easyconsole.cfm/page/category/cat_id/31/lang/el, Stephanis shops and at the Nicosia Municipal Theatre box office (Monday – Friday 10:00-13:00).
Ticket prices
ΖONE A: €60 / €55
ZONE B: €50 / €45
ZONE C: €40 / €35
ZONE D: €25 / €20
Information: 22797979 (Monday – Friday 10:00-13:00).
