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Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne

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I went to the house but did not enter

Heiner Goebbels

I went to the house but did not enter

Therein lies perhaps the secret to the music-theatre-works of Heiner Goebbels: Despite (or perhaps because of) the lack of spectacle, his works have an extraordinary effect on the attention of the spectator.

 

Already the title of this staged concert, developed with the world famous Hilliard Ensemble, suggests that nothing much will hap- pen during the piece. Therein lies perhaps the secret to the mu- sic-theatre-works of Heiner Goebbels: Despite (or perhaps be- cause of) the lack of spectacle, his works have an extraordinary effect on the attention of the spectator. The uniquely intense per- formances of the Hilliard Ensemble – whose voices are trained in the music of the Middle Ages – are based on a wonderfully res- trained presence that is strikingly different from the pomp often characteristic of the singing style found on the operatic stage. This fascination for vocal insistence is the starting point for Heiner Goeb- bels ́ latest composition developed at the Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne with the same creative team with whom he has collaborated on most of his recent music-theatre works: Klaus Grünberg (stage design and lighting), Florence von Gerkan (costume) and Willi Bopp (sound).

«I went to the house but did not enter» is a staged concert of three tableaux. Each tableau is a separate entity dedicated to a different 20th century literary text. Although markedly separated these va- rious texts do share one theme: each lends the fragmented and ano- nymous «I» a multitude of voices and features, that deny the reader the possibility of clearly defined roles and characters. Their lan- guage – varied as it is – promises no security. Despite offering a lot of stories, each text demonstrates a mistrust of the linear narrative form, and the often paradoxical meaning of the story only finds its value, when we as listeners complete the act of storytelling. «I went to the house but did not enter» is perhaps a journey on which the un- heroic protagonists – «a pack of nobodies» as Kafka puts it – never embarks. It is a journey in three time frames in no particular place – everywhere and nowhere.

«The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock» is one of the young T.S Eliot ́s most famous poems. The title hints at the sadly doomed underta- king – such a pernickety and correct use of initials is hardly the stuff of love songs... And while this love song does begin with the best of intentions - «Let us go then, You and I» – it is uncertain whether Prufrock actually ever leaves his room. These contradictions are also the main thread of the other texts of the evening.

Tell us exactly what happened ! Who says this in Maurice Blanchot ́s The Madness of the Day ? Is it a policeman? Or a patient, a doctor, the nurses, or the law? If it is a confession or an interrogation, then who is guilty? And who threw a glass into whose face? A story? No, never again.

Finally, the vortex of Samuel Beckett ́s «Worstword Ho» most radi- cally challenges and questions our language, words and signs; which could indeed go horribly wrong, if it weren ́t for Beckett ́s «better fai- lure» with his tight-knit poetic language – the utopia of the aesthetic form.

 

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Heiner Goebbels
Heiner Goebbels

Polyinstrumentiste, Heiner Goebbels étudie la sociologie quand il découvre l’importance politique de la musique à travers l’oeuvre de Hanns Eisler. Il entame alors une carrière de compositeur et de metteur en scène. Ses compositions sont depuis jouées par des orchestres du monde entier. En 1993, il présente sa première mise en scène de théâtre musical, Ou bien le débarquement désastreux, qui sera suivie en 1995 par La Reprise (Die Wiederholung d’après Kierkegaard et Alain Robbe-Grillet), puis Noir sur blanc (1996). A Vidy, il crée Max Black (avec André Wilms, 1998), Hashirigaki (sur des textes de Gertrude Stein, 2000), Stifters Dinge (2007) et I went to the house but did not enter (2008). Il a été directeur artistique de la Ruhrtriennale de 2012 à 2014. Heiner Goebbels propose un théâtre où les différents langages coexistent sans hiérarchie, se prolongeant et dialoguant les uns avec les autres. La scène devient un espace d’observation ouvert à l’inédit et l’inattendu, où l’écoute et l’attention aux détails participent d’une curiosité renouvelée pour l’existence humaine dans sa complexité.

From the same artist
Hashirigaki
Stifters Dinge
Max Black
Eraritjaritjaka - Musée des phrases
Masterclass de Heiner Goebbels
Learn more
Credits
Press and Pro
Consult and download various documents related to the show: press file, HD photos, press reviews and more.

Press kit

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Photos HD

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Press review

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Production folder

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Tour dates
6.03 - 8.03.2014 Biennale Musiques en Scène 2014
9.08.2014 Happy Days Enniskillen International Beckett Festival, Ardhowen Theatre, Nothern Ireland, UK

Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne

Directeur Vincent Baudriller

Avenue Gustave Doret

CH-1007 Lausanne

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