Alongside the story of Jesus’ birth, it is probably the most frequently told literary subject of the Advent season: Charles Dickens’ Christmas story. The socially critical tale about the old miser Ebenezer Scrooge, who is haunted by four ghosts on the eve of Christmas and rediscovers his humanity through them, is a classic. No theatre has not performed this work several times.
So why a new version? The director and producer Martin Mühleis has celebrated great success with stage adaptations of literary works in recent years. His adaptation of Erich Kästner’s autobiographical story »Als ich ein kleiner Junge war« with Walter Sittler in the leading role alone has been performed more than 500 times. Together with the composer Libor Šíma, he has now created a musical stage fairy tale for the two actors Samuel Finzi and Herbert Knaup. Its aesthetic is reminiscent of old black and white films and plays with elements of literary revues. Spaces are created through the music and the skilful lighting direction – and yet the literary text always plays the main role; the tempo, rhythm and structure of the novella are also preserved in the reading version.
PERFORMERS
Samuel Finzi recitation
Herbert Knaup recitation
Sagas Streichquintett quintet
Martin Mühleis stage direction, production, text, costumes, set design
Birte Horst lighting design
Libor Šíma composition
