RICHARD II

In August 1999, to mark his arrival at the Berliner Ensemble, Claus Peymann decided to stage Shakespeare’s Richard II. The production was a glorious master stroke and has remained in the company’s stock repertoire. As an assistant Peymann took on scenographer Achim Freyer who created an unusual black and white design for the setting. A new translation by Thomas Brasch was commissioned. The result was a harsh, direct text in which one can spot references to the political ploys of our time; this befits the production which rests on clearly delineated signs, and gives complete freedom to the strength of a radically critical language stuck like a thorn in the flesh of men of power. Claus Peymann believes in the political and provoking function of drama. To make that power patent, he first and foremost relies on exceptional actors. Michael Maertens as Richard II offers the unfathomable richness of his voice to vent the turmoil, the storms of rage, the distress of this young, fragile king; he is still too much of a boy to reign over his corrupt and murderous entourage or even to understand it. When he sees his world collapse, when he resigns, then does the boy truly become king. The way Maertens builds up the character of a martyr king, an utterly lost creature, is unforgettable.