Brecht's Ashes
A crossing through nazism, World War II, the Thirty Years' War,
the Un-American Activities Committee, until salvation arrives with
Ulbricht's communist Berlin.
In Brecht's Ashes, independent lines of actions are presented
simultaneously, concentrating a double system of references into a
single scene.These two characteristics of Eugenio Barba's
dramaturgy are put to the service of an impressive historical
tapestry which intertwines:
1. the biography of Bertolt
Brecht;
2. historical events during his
lifetime;
3. the transposition that these
events underwent in Brecht's works.
The writer's relatively secure years of exile are set against
the deaths of distant friends; the Second World War melts into the
Thirty Years' War as experienced by Mother Courage (when Kattrin,
the mute, is captured, raped and put to death); the abjuration of
Galileo is also Brecht's deposition before the Un-American
Activities Committee. Powerful theatrical images are condensed into
easily recognisable conceptual knots, as in satirical drawings and
political cartoons. In the end, in Stalinist East Berlin with its
grey and depressing atmosphere, the young and ingenuous Kattrin,
who dances for joy over liberty and socialism, is suffocated by
having "Pravda" thrust down her throat ("Pravda" meaning "Truth" in
Russian).
Created in Holstebro, at the same time as The
Million.
Actors
Torben Bjelke (only in the first version), Roberta Carreri, Toni
Cots, Tage Larsen, Francis Pardeilhan, Iben Nagel Rasmussen, Silvia
Ricciardelli, Ulrik Skeel, Julia Varley, Torgeir Wethal
Scenic space: Odin Teatret
Text and director:
Eugenio Barba, using a montage of Brecht's poetry and songs as well
as other documents from the period. After Brecht's heirs withdrew
their permission to use the texts, Barba set to work to compose a
new montage which, instead of using Brecht's verses, often referred
back to those of other authors who had inspired Brecht. The text is
in German and translated by the actor who plays Mack the Knife into
the language of the country in which the performance is shown.
Number of spectators per performance: 150.
166 performances from March 1980 to October
1984
On Tour
Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico,
Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, USA