Don Juan

comedy by Molière
translation by Friedrich Samuel Bierling

Schauspielhaus
Revival
So – 26. Dec 21
With the ambition of a great conqueror, Don Juan rushes from win to win to satisfy his endless desires. He murdered the commander, who sought to protect his daughter, and he kidnapped Donna Elvira from the convent, married and left her. Variety is love’s great pleasure – a marriage for him is like a sip of water. Fascinated yet apprehensive, Sganarelle, Don Juan’s valet, escorts his master on his adventures, defying all convention by not believing in heaven or hell. He neither fears the revenge of Donna Elvira’s brothers who chase after him, nor the curse of his father who condemns him for his amoral lifestyle. At the cemetery he discovers the grave and statue of the commander, who he killed, and invites the statue over for dinner. When the stone guest indeed shows up, Don Juan’s final challenge becomes an ordeal. Molière encountered the material for Don Juan in commedia dell’arte. He turned the aristocratic rake of the Italian original into a shining free spirit who reflects the ideological battles of a society in upheaval. Molière’s Don Juan is a tireless seducer searching for his next kick and a cold rationalist who challenges the social order.
Staging, stage and costume design
staging Associate
Sebastian Sommer
set Associate
Moritz Nitsche
Costumes Associate
Wicke Naujoks
light design
Correpetition
Angela Rutigliano