by Heiner Müller
About the Author
Heiner Müller was born on January 9, 1929 in Saxony, (East) Germany. His father was taken by the Nazis when Müller was only four years old. He was part of the Hitler Youth. In 1947 he joined the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. Müller was thought to be the most important postdramatic writer/poet/essayist/dramatist/director since Brecht. In 1992 he joined the directorate of the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm, Brecht's former company and before his death in Berlin on December 30, 1995, he was the sole artistic director.
About the play
Hamletmachine, or Die Hamletmaschine, was completed in 1977 and had its world premiere in 1979 at the Theatre Gerard Philipe in Saint Denis, France. It is loosely based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet. Müller found inspiration in it while translating Shakespeare's Hamlet for a production by Benno Besson in East Berlin. He condensed the 200 page play into 8 pages which he called "the shrunken head of the Hamlet tragedy." Also, it's been performed as a radio drama, set to music, and released on CD.
Questions
1. Why would Müller write some of the lines (the ones with asterisks) in English instead of keeping the whole text in German?
2. For those of you who are stage savvy, what would your set design consist of?
3. In scene four, the actor who plays Hamlet says, "The set is a monument. It presents a man who made history, enlarge a hundred times." Who do you think the man who made history is?
4. According to Müller, "The main character here could rather be Ophelia than Hamlet. I wouldn't consider this a disadvantage... it was my intention to make Ophelia a character of equal importance. That could become an interesting aspect in the U.S." Do you feel that Ophelia is more of a main character than Hamlet? Do you think she should be?
2. For those of you who are stage savvy, what would your set design consist of?
3. In scene four, the actor who plays Hamlet says, "The set is a monument. It presents a man who made history, enlarge a hundred times." Who do you think the man who made history is?
4. According to Müller, "The main character here could rather be Ophelia than Hamlet. I wouldn't consider this a disadvantage... it was my intention to make Ophelia a character of equal importance. That could become an interesting aspect in the U.S." Do you feel that Ophelia is more of a main character than Hamlet? Do you think she should be?
5. Why does Hamlet dress in Ophelia's clothes in the third scene, and why does he want to be a woman?
6. How does this Hamlet compare to the Shakespeare's Hamlet? Are they anything alike?
7. In your opinion, who is more Brechtian: Müller or Brecht himself?
The play it self was very dense and open to many interpertations. I'm not really sure how I would interpert it yet. Reading Muller's background story explains a lot of things for me that had very socialist and left themes such as on the last page of the play when the three women say " the main point is to overthrow all conditions..." this reminded me of a Marx's Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of
ReplyDeleteLaw. which Breifly Skimmed for another class. I dont think it a coincident that one of the women is named Marx. Also references to the Mark which was two type of german currency when the country was divided. I can't remember the two different names but both ended with Mark. I could just be reaching but Considering Mullers life maybe im on to something.
In 1978, an attempt to stage this play failed after two weeks of rehearsal. I think that says a lot in regards to how actors view the challenge of a script like this and how directors can get frustrated when there is a lack of direction. This is where the line of "is this do-able?" gets blurry. Sure, you can stage it...but are you sending a message? Are you connecting with your audience? With this particular script, I think the playwright colored a little too far outside of the lines for non-Germans to connect with. That said, perhaps this script could be more successful in Germany...
ReplyDeleteI think this play is both stageable and quite connected to the original hamlet. When breaking it down into moments and scenes, the themes from hamlet can clearly be seen. For example, in the revolution scene, there are multiple ties to the original play. The fact that hamlet is on both sides of the revolution can be seen as the fact that he is rebelling against his uncle, while foreigners seek to overthrow his kingdom for their own revenge. Also, it reflects hamlet's inner turmoil as he struggles to decide whether or not to rebel. That scene leads to the character killing himself in a non-suicidal way, and that is connected to the fact that, ultimately, hamlet is responsible for his own death.
ReplyDeleteAs for staging, i think it could absolutely be done. I see a relatively minimalist set, with some unobtrusive platforms strewn about to give different levels to different scenes. Props too would be the minimum of what was needed, so as to not distract from the story. A lot of the staging could be done with lights and sound, giving the audience clues as to where to look. Acting-wise, it should be staged moment to moment and scene to scene, with the transitions falling into place as feels natural. With good actors, and the right audience, i think this could definitely be done.