Season opening – Schauspielhaus starts new season with Brecht – Culture

Hamburg (dpa/lno) – The new season at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg starts with a Brecht production directed by artistic director Karin Beier. “Mr. Puntila and his servant Matti” premieres this evening (7.30 p.m.).

For the folk play, Brecht had reworked stories and a draft by Hella Wuolijoki while in exile in Finland. In it, a landowner who was addicted to alcohol expressed himself in a friendly and moral manner towards his fellow human beings – including those under him – when he was drunk enough. He considers his chauffeur Matti to be the epitome of honesty, but at the same time he also assumes that, as a supporter of left-wing ideas, he is a danger to society. In his sober moments, Puntila becomes a merciless master race.

The production features a top-class cast including Joachim Meyerhoff, Kristof Van Boven and Lilith Stangenberg. Last season, the Schauspielhaus was named “Theater of the Year” by the trade magazine “Theater heute”.

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