“Nathan the Wise”: Berlin Theatertreffen: First, warm up

In school – as we hear everywhere – you learn for life. It is doubtful that this is particularly pleasant. Anyone who has attended German educational institutions can be happy if the trauma can be cured.

Let’s take the fine arts. Wouldn’t it be the task of the teaching staff to encourage interest in music, literature and drama? Since there is rarely a Robin Williams standing in front of the school classes and playing “Dead Poets Club” with his pupils, but mostly a so-called lateral or lateral entrant with an interest in long summer holidays and little interest in the musical development of adolescents, the student body directed to the nearest theater with the order to enjoy themselves and to clap well at the end. If there is a new attempt to go to a stage, which is of your own free will, you can count yourself lucky, as the deterrent effect was only of limited duration.

There is another way! Nora Hertlein-Hull, the new director of the Berliner Theatertreffen, did not forget to send greetings to a school class from Radebeul in her opening speech for this year’s festival on Thursday. The teacher fought like a lioness for the cards. Such commitment, which does not stop at the doors of the local Karl May Museum but extends to the capital’s festivals, is truly commendable.

And in fact, almost the entire schedule was sold out in no time. It may have been particularly difficult for the opening premiere. But if so, then already. After all, it was also one of the required readings in school German lessons: Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise”, here in a production by the Theatertreffen veteran Ulrich Rasche from the Salzburg Festival.

Did the younger audience like it? Who knows. Hardly anyone will have been left completely untouched by the large images. The choral passages in the ensemble scenes had a power and precision rarely heard in the theater. And the impressive acting performance should not go unmentioned. Three actresses in particular should be mentioned here: Valery Tscheplanowa, who was missing from the stage for a long time and who energetically took on the title role, Julia Windischbauer as Recha and Almut Zilcher as Sittah.

Lessing’s “Dramatic Poem in Five Acts” with its famous Ring Parable is considered a key text of the Enlightenment, an eternally valid appeal for tolerance. Rapid interest turns to the limits of this enlightenment. He weaves texts from Lessing’s contemporaries, such as Fichte and Voltaire, into the production. They do not demonstrate reason, but are an expression of anti-Semitism, against which even the Enlightenment thinkers themselves were not immune. Enlightenment, the director hammers into us, has limits.

Having premiered in July 2023, the artistic team could hardly have imagined the massacres that would occur in October of last year. Matthias Pees, director of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth and Nora Hertlein-Hull, all emphasize the new topicality of theater work, which is probably a gross simplification. Neither Rasche nor Lessing can be blamed for the fact that the evening can hardly serve as an explanation for what has been happening in the Middle East for months.

For the production, Rasche uses the means that he has made into essential tools of his style. The stage is shrouded in misty darkness. Only the bright white glow of lighting designer Alon Cohen cuts through the gray and black. The revolving stage hardly ever stands still; it becomes a treadmill for the players on which they rhythmically pace incessantly in order to just stand in one place. An almost four-hour stage workout.

In addition, there is the continuous sound (Raimund Hornich), which atmospherically overlays all the scenic events. No, you can hardly escape the magical effect. But what does this method of representation bring out of Rasche’s now well-known bag of knowledge? The directing devices obscure the viewer’s view of the drama.

There is no need to doubt that there is still a lot on offer here, that the players are always constructing new images in the light, that this is a higher level of acting art. The final applause also testified to this. But it remains a contentious evening. And that’s how it should be at the Berlin Theatertreffen, the best show, where the ten most remarkable productions of the last year from German-speaking countries are shown.

Ulrich Rasche’s monolithic production on the opening evening was already contrasted with Falk Richter’s very delicate and touching theater work “The Silence” at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, in which the actor Dimitrij Schaad, an exceptional artist, is also on stage. We can look forward to the other productions – from Jena and Nuremberg, from Munich and Zurich, from Hamburg and Bochum.

You can find the complete schedule of the Berlin Theatertreffen at:
www.berlinerfestspiele.de/theatertreffen

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