Stifter’s Things [The Pianopiece]

Heiner Goebbels’ latest work is a piano piece without a pianist, a piece of theatre without an actor, a performance without performers: it invites the audience into a fascinating space full of sounds and images. Things that in theatre often appear to be no more than props or decoration become protagonists here: lighting, images, noises, sounds, voices, wind and fog, water and ice.

His source of inspiration are the stories of Adalbert Stifter, where plot takes a step back out of respect for nature and objects. With their radically slow tempo and ritualized repetitions, they make the romantic Stifter appear surprisingly modern. The performative installation Stifter’s Things uses these features as a challenge to encounter the unknown and powers which we cannot master – both unfamiliar cultural orders and natural disasters, as described repeatedly and exhaustively by Stifter.

Cast

Design, Lighting and Video Klaus Grünberg
Music and Programming Associate Hubert Machnik
Sound Design Willi Bopp
Assistant Sound Design Matthias Mohr