De man zonder eigenschappen I
Explosions at the end
In his three-part novel The Man Without Qualities, Robert Musil describes the downfall of a world similar to ours, in bright satirical colours. Vienna 1913. The Austrian-Hungarian double monarchy still stands. The highest Viennese circles come together in preparation for the celebration in 1918 of Emperor Franz-Joseph’s seventy years of rule. We meet a colourful collection of characters. They see reality through the nostalgic eyes of a past glory. Although the loud explosions at the end of the performance are only fireworks, they could just as well be the first cannon shots of WWI.
● The director Guy Cassiers is building up an oeuvre in which his relationship with the European cultural canon plays an important role. Following his four-part stage adaptation of Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu, he has started on another magnum opus of European literature, an adaptation in three performances of Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften by the Austrian writer Robert Musil (1880-1942). Proust died in 1922, before he could complete his masterpiece. Musil started writing his in 1921 and it too was not completed.
Press quotes on De man zonder
eigenschappen I
'Puur intellectueel genot in taal,
beeld, spel en enscenering' - Tuur Devens in Theatermaggezien
'Wonderschoon, haarscherp en verbazend actueel' - Guido Lauwaert op Knack.be
7 PM
What if you don’t want to go out too late? Just want a snack after work and then go straight to the theatre? Want to go home by the last tram or bus (but one)? Why not try an early-evening show at 7 PM! Find the full programme on www.kaaitheater.be/7pm.
direction Guy Cassiers | text Robert Musil | adaptation Filip Vanluchene, Guy Cassiers, Erwin Jans | dramaturgy Erwin Jans | with Dirk Buyse, Katelijne Damen, Gilda De Bal, Vic De Wachter,Tom Dewispelaere, Johan Van Assche, Liesa Van der Aa, Wim Van der Grijn, Marc Van Eeghem, Dries Vanhegen | image concept & design Enrico Bagnoli, Diederik De Cock | costumes Belgat (Valentine Kempynck & Johanna Trudzinski) | video editing Frederik Jassogne | music editing & live assistance Johan Bossers | image sources James Ensor, De Intrede van Christus in Brussel © SABAM Belgium 2010, Leonardo Da Vinci, Het Laatste Avondmaal © HAL9000 Srl Novara, Italy | thanks to Norbertijnerabdij van Tongerlo, Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen | production Toneelhuis | co-production De Tijd, Maison de la Culture Amiens (FR), Centre Dramatique National Orléans/Loiret/Centre (FR), Centro Dramático nacional (Gobierno de Espana) (ES), Holland Festival (NL)
