Woyzeck (2001)
Based on Georg Büchner
"One can say that adventures occur in the head..."
This is one way of describing the Sycorax version of Büchner's "Woyzeck". This piece, known to most as a social-drama, is now illuminated from another perspective. The background of the story is no longer the social problems of the 19th century, but rather the white walls of a modern psychiatric hospital; they are turned into a screen for the imagination and phantasmagoria.
The everyday life in a psychiatric hospital and the imaginative world intermix, the borders blur and the otherwise dim inner-rooms of humans is brought to the forefront. The consciousness influenced by medications, changes the hospital hallway into a stage; the doctors and patients become the actors. The thumping, which Büchner's Woyzeck speaks of, becomes loud; the voices which he hears become real. They take on form; their words become comprehensible, their constantly present whispering is overwhelming: "Does the wind say that, too?"
It is within this atmosphere that the "adventure in the head" becomes a balancing act between the worlds, by which the fragments of Woyzeck come together in flowing images.
"The viewer dives into the depths of Woyzeck's mind and struggles for air after emerging: seen with the eyes of Sycorax, they do not appear so abysmal."
(Westfälische Nachrichten)
"And while the doctors and residents of the institution wrench to Techno-beats, Woyzeck simply stands there. One can almost feel the hammering in his head; the same hammering the members of the audience feel after the performance. This extraordinary achievement was rewarded with a lot of applause."
(Münstersche Zeitung)
Woyzeck was an outstanding production and for me the highlight of the festival. I was moved to tears by the power of this story so well told. The superb lighting and set design gave the work a professionalism that is seldom seen in theatre with actors who experienced mental illness."
(Rosemary Joy ,RAG Theatre Melbourne)
"The acting was superb. The direction had sparks of sublime inspiration and took this very difficult piece and made it understanderbable. The set was inventive in a minimalistic style. The costume and lighting added to the overall tremendous effect."
(Lisa Brown, Festival director, Madness and Arts 2003 World Festival, Toronto)
This project has been sponsored by: Kulturamt der Stadt Münster, Theater im Pumpenhaus, Stiftung Siverdes, Volkshochschule Münster, Förderkreis Sozialpsychiatrie, Fördermitglieder von Sycorax e.V.
Theater Sycorax was invited to perform Woyzeck at the madness and arts World-Festival in Toronto, Canada, in March 2003.
The Toronto tour was supported by the Stiftung Wohlfahrtspflege NRW
and the Paritätischen Geldberatung
(Photos: Steffi Klingelmann)