Fear and Misery of the Third Reich

Russian Theatre

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is considered to be the most important German dramaturge of the first half of the 20th century by not only people who admire his works, activities and views but also by those who disagree with them. During the current dark age, this renowned classic has become incredibly relevant. And not only because he wrote a lot about war and whether it’s possible to remain humane when you’re surrounded by a mindless bloodbath and people are killing each other because of the ambitions of crazy people who’ve taken charge, but also because he understood exactly the structure of an ill and closed society. You could say that Brecht saw through the society and he wasn’t disillusioned.

Estonian theatres have staged Brecht’s plays on numerous occasions. Here is a list of a few of them – “Mr Puntola and His Man Matti“ by Voldermar Panso at Estonian Drama Theatre, “Life of Galileo“, “Švejk in the Second World War“, “Mother Courage and Her Children“ by Kaarel Ird at Vanemuine, “The Threepenny Opera“ by Adolph Shapiro at Tallinn City Theatre, “The Good Person of Szechwan“ at Vanalinnastuudio, Tiit Palu’s new “The Caucasian Chalk Circle“ at Vanemuine. Timofey Kulyabin’s performance at the Russian Theatre is the first time Brecht’s play “Fear and Misery of the Third Reich“ has been played in Estonia.

During 1934-1938 when Brecht was a refugee in Denmark, he wrote 24 short plays ranging from a few lines to a few pages which were later merged under the title “Fear and Misery of the Third Reich“. He wrote down the stories which he read or heard from other refugees. The number of playlets which are included in this collection has changed over time. But the rational and relentless analysis of how the lies of a political regime can corrupt people, how the powers to be manipulate people, how family values are destroyed, how fear and intimidation crushes human dignity and how people lose the ability and opportunity to stand up against violence has always remained the same.

Timofey Kulyabin’s performance is based on approximately half of the plays from this collection, including the most famous of these – “Dissident Woman“ and “Spy“. The performance talks about fear and desperation, collective numbness and the wilting of humans in a totalitarian society. The answer to your question of “Why should I see this performance?“ is simple – to not lose what makes us human.

The Golden Mask nominee Timofey Kulyabin managed the Red Torch theatre in
Novosibirsk, which he shaped into a real phenomenon in the theatre world. He left Russia at the beginning of the war.

Tallinn audiences have seen Timofey Kulyabin’s performances “Onegin“ and “Three Sisters“ (in sign language). He is one of the most renowned Russian directors whose foreign works (in Switzerland, Germany, Norway, Greece, Italy, Bulgaria, Serbia) have been booked up years in advance. The fact that he’s directing at the Russian Theatre is a remarkable gift for both the audiences and the team at the theatre.

Director: Timofey Kulyabin
Dramaturgy: Roman Dolzhanskiy
Stage designer: Oleg Golovko
Costume designer: Vlada Pomirkovannaja
Lighting designer: Oskars Paulinš
Musical direcotr: Timofei Pastukhov
Stage manager: Tatjana Kaur
Stage manager: Sergey Pleskin

Cast: Artjom Garejev, Aleksandr Žilenko, Dmitri Kordas, Dmitri Kosjakov, Daniil Zandberg, Marina Malova, Jekaterina Kordas, Tatjana Kosmõnina, Anna Markova, Tatjana Manevskaja, Elli Levin, Kristian Drazdauskas, Roman Štširõi, Taissia Podolskaja.

The premiere was held on August 25, 2023 at the Grand Hall of the Russian Theatre.

The performance lasts for 1 hour and 50 minutes.

Loe lisaks

https://www.veneteater.ee/et/repertuaar/kolmanda-impeeriumi-hirm-ja-viletsus/37