Theaterstück

If even childhood is characterised by disrespect and mistreatment, what chance do we have in life? Monika and Franz-Josef were sucked ever deeper into the dreadful maelstrom of alcohol and violence. However, between the humiliations, deprivations and anxieties, something remains visible: love – incomprehensible perhaps and yet the only thing that tethers them to life.

»Schweißausbruch oder Das Leben von Monika und ihrem Franz-Josef« (»Breaking into a sweat or The life of Monika and her Franz-Josef«) is based on interviews by author Michael Klaus, who was born in Brilon/North Rhine-Westphalia in 1952, with an »authentic« couple. The fascination of the piece is less in the text and more in the alienation and depersonalisation. Linked by a clever musical collage, four actresses tell a story, which provokes deeply mixed emotions even from a distance.

Rolf Dennemann, who was born in Gelsenkirchen in 1952, is a freelance director, actor and author. In 1991, he founded the company artscenico, which works across many disciplines and has an international network. Since 1997, Dennemann has been the artistic director of the international dance and theatre festival off limits in Dortmund. As a member of the euro-scene Leipzig artistic advisory council, he has been given Carte blanche no. 2, created in 2006. He is the only member of the advisory council who is also a director and, as such, he will also be introduced as an artist.

»A blues mood hangs over the production, which is a slow-motion theatre. Less a social drama and more a melancholy description of the state of a couple on the edge, ›Schweißausbruch‹ (›Breaking into a sweat‹) is a piece which is more moving than exciting; a confession, which tells more about taking than about dishing out« (Julia Gaß, Ruhr Nachrichten, Dortmund, 14.10.2006).