Christoph Marthaler . NTGent & Toneelgroep Amsterdam

The Swiss director Christoph Marthaler is fond of slowness and silences and melancholy. His fascination for Maurice Maeterlinck's literature therefore comes as no surprise. The writings of this Belgian author are permeated with melancholy and mysticism. They epitomize symbolism. His work as a whole has been internationally recognized: Maeterlinck is the only Belgian ever to have been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. Marthaler's theatre is aimed at creating a fictional reality with a very specific aesthetic quality. What you see is pure visual poetry. On the basis of his musicological background he approaches the text as if it were a score, with a sense of rhythm and sound. At the same time his characters have an appearance that is both ordinary and unreal. You feel that they are shut off from the outside world and exist without any sense of time. This surrealism is strengthened even further by the stage designer Anna Viebrock's concept of space. She creates replicas of existing inner rooms with a brilliant eye for detail. Once you have seen a production by this masterly couple you will always recognise their hallmark. Following the success of 'Seemannslieder', Marthaler has once again taken on the challenge of directing a Dutch-language production. A dazzling range of actors and singers from two dynamic civic theatres guarantee a real theatre experience.