Based on the novel by Wolfgang Koeppen
A co-production of Theater Bonn and fringe ensemble
Published in 1953, the novel DAS TREIBHAUS, the second part of Koeppen’s “Trilogy of Failure,” is a highly pessimistic appraisal of the forming Federal Republic and thus bitterly criticizes the restorative Adenauer era.
With: Bettina Marugg, Maria Munkert, Tanja von Oertzen, Matthias Höhn, Stefan Preiss, Harald Redmer
Director: Frank Heuel
Dramaturgy: Stephanie Gräve
Stage, costumes and video: Annika Ley
Music: Matthias Höhn
Light: Lothar Krüger
Premiere: October 15, 2008 in the workshop of the Opera Bonn
Published in 1953, the novel DAS TREIBHAUS, the second part of Koeppen’s “Trilogy of Failure,” is a highly pessimistic appraisal of the forming Federal Republic and thus bitterly criticizes the restorative Adenauer era. His protagonist Felix Keetenheuve, a member of the Bundestag for the SPD, is the opposite of a real politician: an uncompromising intellectual and lover of Baudelaire’s poetry, he rejects pragmatic action, is no match for his faction’s moves to instrumentalize him, and fails as completely with his political goals as he does in his marriage. The novel, which begins with his wife’s funeral, ends with Keetenheuve’s jump from a Rhine bridge.
In 2009, the Federal Republic of Germany turns sixty. In the run-up to this anniversary, THEATER BONN and fringe ensemble are giving the birthday boy in his birthplace Bonn a special present: with the series 60 YEARS IN 6 WEEKS, aspects from the history and present of the FRG will be targeted. The centerpiece of the series is the dramatization of the novel DAS TREIBHAUS by Wolfgang Koeppen.
DAS TREIBHAUS is sponsored by the Minister President of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia.
