FREIHEIT

Stunning images and music as well as a pure “joy of playing” in an impressively elaborate opus by one of the most important figures in European theatre – Christopher Rüping. An exceptionally free interpretation of a classic text in a dynamic performance by a top international ensemble – in a breathtaking Gesamtkunstwerk of lights, sound, set, costumes and… time.
Ceremonial opening of the 27th Flora Theatre Festival. In German with Czech subtitles.

So much love, so much feeling, so much life! Four narrators of Dante’s story, Damian Regbetz, Anne Rietmeijer, Anna Drexler and William Cooper, wrestling with words as if they were living beings, painfully consumed by love hymns ranging from Britney Spears to Meat Loaf. A delightful experience!
Sarah Heppekausen, nachtkritik.de

“The New Life” lifts the theatre audience out of their seats.
Sven Westernströer, Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

How does it feel when you platonically fall in love with all your heart? Despite the fact that love has taken hold of you from head to toe, confessing your feelings seems to be the hardest thing in the world. But what if your beloved leaves before you have spoken a single word? And can such an experience still affect your whole life?
In his early poem The New Life and later in his masterpiece The Divine Comedy, which is to this day one of the most important texts of European literature, Dante Alighieri deals with his unfulfilled love for Beatrice. His beloved died of an infection at the age of mere 24 years, and Dante later reunites with her – at least through literature – in Paradise. His delicate verses, which touch on the most sensitive topics, such as love, death and unfulfilled love, still speak to us from the heart even after seven hundred years. In the modern interpretation by one of Europe’s most important contemporary directors, Christopher Rüping, young people retell Dante’s story.
With the virtuosity, energy and lightness of the dramatic ensemble from Bochum – and in conjunction with songs ranging from Britney Spears to Meat Loaf – The New Life becomes a unique production that like no other shows human in deep longing for closeness and second chances. After performing Noise. The Sound of the Crowd in Olomouc two years ago, one of Germany’s leading drama companies is coming back with their acclaimed production, which opened the prestigious Berliner Theatertreffen in 2022 – and which will open the 27^th edition of the Flora Theatre Festival.

directed by Christopher Rüping

translation Thomas Vormbaum
stage design Peter Baur
costume design Lene Schwind
music Jonas Holle
lighting design Bernd Felder
dramaturgy Vasco Boenisch
assistant director Linda Hecker
stage design assistant Lan Anh Pham
costume design assistant Lasha Iashvili
speech coaching Roswitha Dierck
prompter Arian Schill
stage manager Christiane Dolnik
internship Rasmus Geyer

cast William Cooper, Viviane De Muynck, Anna Drexler, Risto Kübar, Anne Rietmeijer

premiere 10 September 2021

Christopher Rüping (1985) creates productions that are as tender as they are exuberant, in which the actors can interact freely with each other and the audience. Instead of focusing on developing an easily identifiable directorial style, he is always looking for new experiences, experimenting with new forms and conceptual approaches that allow him to express very personal and modern takes on both classical and contemporary material. His greatest emphasis is on acting.
Born in Hannover, he studied directing at the Theatre Academy in Hamburg and the Zurich University of the Arts. From 2016 to 2019 he was a resident director at the Müncher Kammerspiele. Since then, he has been holding the same position at the Schauspielhaus Zürich.
Rüping’s reputation is not only reflected in his numerous awards (Young Director of the Year 2014 and 2015, and Director of the Year 2019 and 2021 according to Theater heute magazine) but also in the fact that he has received a record five (!) invitations to the prestigious Berliner Theatertreffen festival. In 2015, it was with the production Das Fest / The Celebration, based on the film by Thomas Vinterberg and Mogens Rukov (Schauspiel Stuttgart); in 2018 with Trommeln in der Nacht / Drums in the Night by Bertolt Brecht; in 2019 with the ten-hour opus inspired by ancient Dionysian themes called Dionysos Stadt / Dionysos City (both at the Münchner Kammerspiele); and in 2021 with Einfach das Ende der Welt / It’s Only the End of the World by Jean-Luc Lagarce (Schauspielhaus Zürich), for which he also won the Nestroy Theatre Prize. Das neue Leben / The New Life based on Dante (Schauspielhaus Bochum) opened the Theatertreffen in 2022 – for a change, it will open the 27^th Flora Theatre Festival this year.

Schauspielhaus Bochum is a city theatre with a history of more than a century. It has long been one of the most progressive venues in Germany. Under the influence of its artistic director Johan Simons, a Dutch drama and opera director, it currently presents itself as a theatre that accentuates the multiculturalism of society against the backdrop of the (post)industrial heritage of the Ruhr region in which it is located. Artists of various cultures, nationalities and disciplines – in addition to acting, it is also dance, performance art, music, film and installation art – find their creative home there.

On its four stages (Schauspielhaus, Kammerspiele, Oval Office and Theaterrevier), it offers productions for youth audiences and interpretations of classical plays as well as world premieres of authorial projects which are frequent guests at major international festivals – for example, two years ago, Christopher Rüping’s Das neue Leben (The New Life) was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen, and this year, it was Macbeth directed by Simons. In 2022, Schauspielhaus Bochum also won the prestigious title of Theatre of the Year in the Theater heute magazine critics’ poll.
The Bochum drama company first appeared in Olomouc in 2022 with Manuela Infante’s Noise. The Sound of the Crowd starring Gina Haller.

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Interview with director Christopher Rüping 
https://www.youtube.com/watch…

Jury evaluation 59. Berliner Theatertreffen 
https://www.youtube.com/watch… 

photo Jörg Brüggemann / Ostkreuz