Man is Man, a tragi-comedy written in 1927, a work of Brecht's youth that marks his entry into epic theatre. How can Man manage to adapt to all the different roles that the industrial society of the 20th Century demands, in an apparently intransigent call for change ? Galy Gay is this unorthodox hero who starts out as a messenger and becomes an active soldier under nauseating pressure from dubious soldiers. French critic Bernard Dort noted that the construction and dismantling of Widow Begbick's refreshments carriage in this play take place at the same time as the transformation of Galy Gay into Jeramiah Jip. The mobility of the location, theatrically points to the instability of the characters in the epic form. Thomas Ostermeier seized upon the theme of deconstruction, and has his actors play furiously with the different states of reality.
Distribution
stage direction Thomas Ostermeier
Cast : Martin Brauer, Martin Engler, Petra Hartung, Roger Jahnke, Ronald Kukulies, Linda Olsansky, Falk Rockstroh, André Szymanski, Mark Waschke, Tilo Werner Musicians Martin Brauer, Ute Falkenau, Jörg Gollasch and Tilo Werner
Director : Thomas Ostermeier
Co-director : Gennadij Bogdanov
Stage design : Jan Pappelbaum
Costumes : Marion Münch
Music : Jörg Gollasch
Script : Jens Hillje
Make up : Wolfgang Utzt
Lighting : Gerd Franke
Sound : Christoph Kalkowski
Assistant director : Wulf Twiehaus
French sub-titles : Ganna-Maria Braungardt
Production
Production : Baracke am Deutschen Theater Berlin
Création le 30/06/1997 Droits Suhrkamp Verlag Frankfurt am Main
Surtitres réalisés avec l'aide du : Goethe Institut (Paris)