NEWS

26 Flora will feature the visionary Susanne Kennedy! One of the most radical and inspiring theatre makers of recent years pushes the boundaries between theatre and other art forms, especially installation in her work. In her production I AM (VR) she also explores the relationship between the body and modern technology…

Her innovative approach to theatre has won her numerous awards, thousands of fans and a worldwide reputation. She has shifted the understanding of what theatre art means and which principles it operates on. Her work is not only formally experimental but also very philosophical. In Germany, Susanne Kennedy's work is associated with the Volksbühne Berlin and especially the Münchner Kammerspiele, where she staged, for example, the award-winning production of Purgatory in Ingolstadt (2013). In it, she first used the dubbing method that has become typical of her work. The actors and actresses record their parts on a tape and „just“ open their mouths on stage.

Since her production of Why Does Herr R. Run Amok (Warum läuft Herr R. Amok?, Münchner Kammerspiele 2014), based on Fassbinder's 1970 film, she has added masks to her directorial handwriting. Instead of portraying the individual characters, Kennedy thus creates a kind of interchangeable types, puppets or cyborgs who – as if controlled from somewhere outside – behave according to established social patterns. This production key fits perfectly into the project The Virgin Suicides (Die Selbstmord-Schwestern, Münchner Kammerspiele 2017), based on Eugenides' novel made famous by Sofia Copolla's film. The shaping of the individual through society or its transformation by technology is one of Susanne Kennedy's fundamental themes.

As she stated in her manifesto Exorcism about the transformation of acting in the 21st century: „The body on stage has no boundaries because it is always part of something else.“ (translated from German)

Susanne Kennedy is famous for her experimentation with space and time. For example, she set the classic title Three Sisters (Münchner Kammerspiele, 2019) in a multiverse, where in each scene we move from one dimension to another and view individual images from Chekhov in various variations.

In addition to original interpretations of classical works, the artist has also devoted herself to performative installations, including I AM (VR), in which she explores the possibilities of virtual reality. The visual design was contributed by multimedia artist Markus Selg, who has been collaborating with the director regularly since 2016. His video game aesthetic is congenial to her futuristic focus.

The production of I AM (VR) is being staged on five dates – tickets go on sale from 11 April at 12 noon, for more information click on the following links:

Friday 19 May at 4 pm–7 pm
Saturday 20 May at 11 am–2 pm + Saturday 20 May at 4 pm–7 pm
Sunday 21 May at 11 am–2 pm + Sunday 21 May at 4.30 pm–7.30 pm

photo Franziska Sinn / down: photo from The Virgin Suicide and Three Sisters productions, photo Judith Buss (OTT / Glamcult)