Come on, have a laugh: “Naked Madness” at BE
Photo: Jörg Brüggemann/OSTKREUZ
Oliver Reese, artistic director of the Berliner Ensemble and director of the production of Michael Frayn’s play “The Naked Madness” that has just been released there, knows what is popular. Of course, the theater building on Schiffbauerdamm has had more important days from a cultural and historical perspective. Not everything is successful on this stage. And it sometimes happens that you leave the parquet shaking your head.
Reese’s schedule policy is sometimes accused of being too inconsistent. Classics and rediscoveries, the ambitious and the merely attempted, the banal and the cerebral are all side by side in the program. But – is that an advantage or a disadvantage? Is there too much or too little concept behind it? And, as is an occasional accusation leveled at the artistic director, isn’t Mr. Reese, as the artistic director of a venerable theater, a little too businesslike in his decisions?
However, one cannot deny that some great actors and actresses have found their artistic home in the Berliner Ensemble. A theater evening like “Naked Madness” lives from them. And they are the ones who ensure that the house is regularly sold out.
In 2011, Reese had already staged Frayn’s modern classic at the Schauspiel Frankfurt, where he was artistic director at the time, and created a hit with the audience. Frankfurt is not Berlin. But why shouldn’t success be repeated?
In “The Naked Madness” the audience follows the first act of a tabloid play three times, performed by the worn-out mimes of a touring theater. First we experience the dress rehearsal of a production that is not nearly ready for its premiere, in which fundamentals are discussed again instead of clearing up the last ambiguities. Much to the director’s displeasure.
Then we see a provincial performance of that same piece, but we watch it from the backstage, taking a look behind the scenes and noticing how the actors’ conflicts are inscribed in the work on stage: all the private arguments, the past flirtations, the Fear of relegation and alcohol.
Finally we see the last performance, in which hardly anything is right. The stage set has been demolished, faithfulness to the text has been declared a relic of the past and everyone is happy that at least everyone made it to the stage more or less in time.
Oliver Reese serves us pure entertainment theater. To blame him for that would be absurd. There is no double bottom, no meta level, and there are not even profound monologues in “Naked Madness”. Not having recovered anything from the material that was never sunk in it is not a failure. The piece is a template for all sorts of slapstick and the director stages it nicely.
The 80s come to life again in stage (Hansjörg Hartung) and costume design (Elina Schnitzler). The hairstyles and outfits provide a few cheap laughs. When the game starts, the actors are finally allowed to really turn around. Then you play, you play someone who plays someone – but in an exaggerated way that is only allowed in the boulevard. (The fact that something is being parodied here that the audience may not know from their own experience is not that important.) And if you get involved with it, you will experience a few really humorous moments. However, it cannot be denied that, despite all the humor, an evening like this cannot last a whole three hours.
The great tragedy hardly ever takes place in the theater anymore. Heiner Müller complained about this 30 years ago. The current stage debates about war, fascism, and climate change often appear to be trying and rarely reach the height that the topics deserve. Oliver Reese’s slapstick evening seems extremely honest because he does nothing but entertain. That’s not great art. But you can sometimes enjoy watching good craftsmanship.
Next performances: November 1st, 2nd and December 30th
www.berliner-ensemble.de
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