„A Man Named Martin“ – 27. Oktober 2017 – City Church of Offenburg
On the Occasion of 500 Years of the Reformation
A BAAL novo Theatre in the City Church of Offenburg
Who was Luther? A revolutionary, a fundamentalist, a moral authority? Did Luther manage to improve our world morally? Did he change people’s hearts for the better, or did he only increase the chaos in our world? In the interplay between Luther and his diabolical adversary Belial, the play grapples with these questions. The piece portrays Luther in his searching, his struggling, his quarrelling with himself and the ecclesiastical world of his time. But it also shows him in his joy for life and the senses. And it points to the significance of Luther for our lives today.
A gripping yet intellectually challenging theatre-art piece about the great reformer of church history – shaped from images cast against the church walls, from theological disputes, speeches, and percussion. A piece that initially lets theatre and church wrestle with one another, yet ends conciliatorily like two hands folded in prayer. Exceptional !
Director: Diana Zöller
Text and Visual Works: Tilmann Krieg
Percussion: Max Siegmund
Martin Luther: Hendrik Pape
Belial: Benjamin Wendel
Spalatin, Melanchthon: Edzard Schoppmann
Staupitz, Official of Trier: Guido Schumacher
A Brother Named MARTIN is especially supported by the
Innovation Fund Art 2017: Culture Throughout Baden Württemberg
With kind support from the Protestant Adult Education and the Protestant Church District Ortenau
„BAAL NOVO“ ZEIGT IM REFORMATIONSJAHR THEATER IN KIRCHEN
„Luther in seinem Suchen und Hadern”Offenburg (arts). The theatre ensemble „BAAL novo Theater Eurodistrict“ continually performs on new and unusual stages, and this time it is the Protestant churches of the region. On the occasion of 500 years of Reformation, the author from Kehl, Tilmann Krieg, has written an extraordinary Martin Luther production for the theatre-makers, which is directed by Diana Zöller. The premiere will take place next Friday, 27 October, at 8 pm in the Protestant city church of Offenburg. Prior to this, the creators answered questions and gave previews of the play, which, under the title “A Man Named Martin”, offers another perspective on Luther.
“Where there is light, there is also shadow,” notes Pastor Claudia Roloff, who, together with her husband Christian Kühlewein-Roloff, initiated the cooperation with the Protestant church and considers the church an ideal venue for the play. Hendrik Pape has immersed himself in the role of Martin Luther, while Benjamin Wendel takes on the role of the devilish Belial. Both engage in a verbal duel above the audience’s heads – Luther from the pulpit, Belial from the gallery. Luther’s friends Spalatin and von Staupitz are impressively portrayed by theatre director Edzard Schoppmann and managing director Guido Schumacher.
Tilmann Krieg has also turned the play into a multimedia spectacle, transforming the churches with images and video sequences, while musician Max Siegmund contributes a rich auditory experience for the audience.
This Martin Luther becomes an impressive performance that takes on a different character in each church nave. “Luther is shown in his searching, struggling, wrestling with himself and the world, but also in his joy of life,” says author Krieg. “The piece is not meant to be smooth, but rather to provoke discussion,” adds director Diana Zöller. The play also aims to connect to the present, where similar conflicts exist and where the devil can seem as dangerous as in Luther’s time, according to the theatre-makers of „BAAL novo”.
Redakteur
Eingestellt von: Rembert Graf Kerssenbrock
aus Kehl
