Romeo Castellucci / Societas

We know Romeo Castellucci as the director of impressive, large-scale opera and theatre productions. For The Third Reich the master opts for a different setting. During this video performance, all nouns from the English dictionary are projected one after another onto a gigantic screen. These nouns represent objects from reality. Due to the high speed with which the words succeed one another, our brain is no longer able to distinguish between them. Language becomes noise, which leads to chaos. The Third Reich paints a picture of an imposed, compulsory communication. Mechanical and aggressive. There is no room for pauses. Castellucci exposes the fascism of language and thereby criticises the form our contemporary communication takes. The projection is preceded by an introductory, ritual act from a single performer in which the linguistic fire is lit. Scott Gibbons’ soundtrack helps make The Third Reich a poignant experience.

Listen here to the introduction by theatre academic Kristof Van Baarle: https://soundcloud.com/desingel/inleiding-romeo-castellucci_the-third-reich

The installation is set up in a completely dark room and features high-volume audio and high-frequency images that may not be recommended for those suffering from epilepsy and for photosensitive people. The installation is not recommended for children under 13 years of age.