PROTECT ME

Falk Richter was born in 1969. He studied direction under Jürgen Flimm at the University of Hamburg; since then he has been a freelance author (works including "Gott ist ein DJ", "Nothing Hurts", "PEACE", "Electronic City") , translator and director. He presented his first big production "Silicon" during the Junge Hunde festival 1996 at Kampnagel Hamburg. This was followed by others including "Martin Crimp’s Attempts on her life" (Amsterdam 1997), "Trainspotting" (Mainz 1997), "In the jungle of the cities" (Atlanta 1998), "Gott ist ein DJ" (Mainz 1999), and "Nothing Hurts" (Kampnagel 1999), which was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen in 2000, and "We come to the river", an opera by Hans Werner Henze, at the Hamburgische Staatsoper. From 2000 to 2003, he was resident director at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, where he staged plays including "Die Nacht singt ihre Lieder" by Jon Fosse, "Polaroids" by Mark Ravenhill and "A Number" by Caryl Churchill.

At the Schaubühne: "PEACE" by Falk Richter (2000), "Far Away" by Caryl Churchill (2001), "4.48 Psychosis" by Sarah Kane (2001), "Electronic City (Das System 1)" by Falk Richter (directed by Tom Kühnel, 2004), "Unter Eis (Das System 2)" by Falk Richter (2004), "Amok WENIGER NOTFÄLLE (Das System 3)" with texts by Martin Crimp (2004), "Hotel Palestine (Das System 4)" by Falk Richter (2004), "The Seagull" by Anton Chekhov (2004), "Die Verstörung" by Falk Richter (2005), "Three Sisters" by Anton Chekhov (2006), "Im Ausnahmezustand" by Falk Richter (2007), "The Cherry Orchard" by Chekhov (2008), "Intrigue and Love" by Friedrich Schiller (2008), "TRUST" by Falk Richter and Anouk van Dijk (Direction and Choreography: Falk Richter and Anouk van Dijk, 2010).

Falk Richter is one of Europe's most important theater writers and directors. His plays analyze the political situation and the physical and psychological state of the modern Western individual. Richter writes about the elite of the economic world, their way of thinking and acting as well as the affect these ideologies of efficiency and economic growth have on the individual.

The performances “TRUST” and “PROTECT ME” that he created together with the choreographer Anouk van Dijk, with a group of musicians and actors from the acclaimed Berlin Schaubühne and dancers from Anouk van Dijk's Amsterdam based dance company, have traveled all over Europe, North America and Australia.

The work talks about collapsing systems, the collapse of faith and the lack of trust in any existing political or economic institution in the aftermath of the big economic crisis in the new millennium. And it talks about how the economical world affects the emotional world of the individual, how the same economic strategies are used in financial as well as in personal relationships. How does it affect us that we live in a permanent state of emergency and that the talk of the crisis never seems to end? How does the ideology of the market effect our everyday way of feeling, inter-acting and thinking - in personal and professional relationships. And how do we bring these issues into a theater that is vibrant, emotional, and visceral?

Meet with Falk Richter, after the performance of Schaubühne Berlin's “PROTECT ME".

19 May 2012 | Main Stage

Moderated by:
Eleni Varopoulou, Theater specialist, translator and critic

Theater and politics

16 May 2012 | 20:30
Free admission | At the Goethe-Institut, Athens

The director and playwright Falk Richter talks with Anestis Azas, director, and Yannis Houvardas, director and artistic director of National Theater of Greece, on political drama in our days.

Moderated by:
Katia Arfara: Theater specialist, Head of Theater and Dance Department of the Onassis Stegi

Language: German / Greek
The discussion will be held in German and Greek with concurrent translation.

Falk Richter Masterclass: The political and the personal in a theater that combines dance, text and music

Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 May 2012
11:00-16:00 | Dance Room | 40 €

In the masterclass, Falk Richter will discuss his work and talk about how political and personal questions can merge into a performance.

Language: English

Addressed to: Dramaturges, writers and directors (professionals and students who are in their last year of studies)

Reservations:
Places are limited, so please apply with a CV in English by Wednesday 2nd of May 2012 to stegi.education@onassis.org