2023-08-15 13:50:42
Actually, you’re pretty tired of it, the dusty, scruffy, didactic, didactic parabola of the “Caucasian Chalk Circle”, as it was premiered in 1948 by Bertolt Brecht – following a Chinese template. Of course, the opera Der Kreidekreis, which Alexander von Zemlinsky had brought out in 1933 with a libretto by Klabund, who, like Brecht, had used the Chinese original, could not be seen in Salzburg – which would have been attractive. Bettina Hering, the outgoing acting director of the festival, leads the audience in a completely different, trendy, here quite risky direction.
Following the trend topic of inclusion, the Swiss Theater Hora, which has been working in this field for a long time, was allowed to compete with the director Helgard Haug, who also works in the collective of the artist group Rimini Protokoll, in order to deal via Brecht with cognitively impaired actors – mostly with Down’s syndrome – who in this context completely to ask a new question: “Who can take on the role of mother?” That was touching and funny at the same time, always autonomous as a work of art – at most a little too long.
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Because on a playing surface made of blackboard-green squares and cubes, some also have red covers, it resembles an installation that also looks like a playroom, the four actors, the soldier Simon, who is connected via video, and the fine musician Minhye Ko act on the marimba and actually always play again only through Brecht’s key scene, in which judge Azdak gives the maid Grusche the governor’s wife’s child, which she has raised, loved and protected. Although Grusha would have waived it for his good, so that it remains intact.
This unwinds a total of eight times, with roles and costumes being changed in between. And again and again two cute cleaning robots wipe away the chalk circles. At first you are still a little confused by the fact that the players get their text spoken via a button in their ear. But that is quickly forgotten, because there are no puppets acting on the audio thread, but idiosyncratic, quickly freeing personalities who quickly compensate with looks and gestures for what they may lack in eloquence; and who always manage the trick of playing their roles and yet also speaking for themselves as a person.
Even the diversity Barbie is there
Privacy is desired here. Every time it starts again, someone else also reveals something about themselves. You can also look it up halfway through the season in a biography booklet distributed by the audience, including family pictures. And that’s how Robin Gilly plays, who gives the child, who is not a baby here, a loudly audible voice, but also Simone Gisler, who dreams of her wedding with Simon so plastically with glitter, flowers and sex. Tiziana Pagliaro, as the potentate’s wife, freely admits that she also likes to command in real life.
Even with a diversity Barbie is acted. And at the end, Robin Gilly suddenly asks whether Grusha would have taken a child too, “that looks like me?” wrapped. They act cleverly minimalist and strong. Her Schwyzerdütsch creates an additional V-effect, which Remo Beuggert, especially in his epic physicality, not only acts as a judge, fully exploits.
Simone Gisler and Simon Stuber (in the video)
Source: © SF/Monika Rittershaus
The Hora Theater has been working in these footsteps for 30 years, and now it has arrived at the most prestigious arts festival in the world in a relaxed manner. Of course, the Salzburg scene doesn’t have the snobby opera clientele here, but nonetheless, these actors are also part of the Salzburg Festival, they have a claim to live up to.
And without any bonus, they show artistically finely spread out and processed, also aesthetically skillful, for example in the video dialogues with Simon Stuber, how far this can go. Or with the video squares, on which annoyingly didactic catchphrases flash up that reinforce them here. Again and again there are quiet islands where they can make music themselves or drink water. Helgard Hauk, who is experienced in documentary theatre, has skilfully installed a structural system that guides her.
Brecht’s questions are soon forgotten
There is no curtain on the finale, and no questions remain unanswered, at most who else could be a mother. But as a spectator who defines themselves as “normal”, one applauds how easy (even if the road was and is certainly long) to experience inclusion even at such a festival and, yes, to enjoy it artistically.
The old Brecht questions about the physically neglectful and the caring foster mother are long forgotten.
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