Schaubühne Berlin
Bucket List
Schaubühne Berlin
Bucket List
When Robert Splitter wakes up one Saturday morning his world is shattered. Nothing that he used to take for granted is any longer valid. Everything has changed, destroyed. He wanders around in the ruins of his former existence. Therapy at such a moment would just be a bad joke. But by coincidence Robert comes in contact with the Zeitgeist Company which offers a unique treatment for PTSD and guarantees that his trauma will be permanently eradicated. But before the patient is cured, he must be prepared to experience a certain amount of discomfort…
Bucket List is a sequence of hallucinations. It’s the story of a story that falls apart. Director Yael Ronen is known for her drastic humor and biting satire. But in this production she describes a situation in which a common language has collapsed and the arena for free play goes up in smoke under the magnifying glass of world politics. There are indeed a few moments of irony in this show, but above all else we are offered a melancholy musical vision of a disintegrating, incomprehensible world.
Together with composer Shlomi Shaban, Ronen uses music and movement to explore the abyss of memory, the place where the brain throws together seemingly unrelated fragments. Main character Robert Splitter’s conflicted childhood, his first kiss, a relationship that broke apart – comes to the surface along with a new trauma. The treatment’s side effects create a disorienting chaos that must be endured before a trauma-free existence can be reached.
Four actors in classic black suits guide the audience through Robert Splitter’s inner landscape to the tones of brilliant ballads, played by three musicians. The repertoire moves from Broadway tunes through cool jazz and dramatic tango to catchy pop.
Writer and director Yael Ronen, winner of numerous prizes for her artistry, was born in Jerusalem and has been active in Germany for many years. She had her international breakthrough in 2010 with Third Generation, a production in which she brought together actors from Germany, Israel and Palestine.
Director: Yael Ronen
Songwriting and compositon: Shlomi Shaban
Stage design: Magda Willi
Costume design: Amit Epstein
Composition and music direction: Yaniv Fridel and Ofer (OJ) Shabi
Video: Stefano Di Buduo
Dramaturgy: Irina Szodruch and Martín Valdés-Stauber
Lighting Designer: Erich Schneider
Performers: Moritz Gottwald, Carolin Haupt, Damian Rebgetz and Ruth Rosenfeld
Live music: Thomas Moked Blum, Amir Bresler and Hila Kulik
Coproduction by Théâtre de Liège – with the support of Wallonia-Brussels International
Supported by the European theater network PROSPERO[*]– Extended Theatre
Kindly supported by the Heinz and Heide Dürr Foundation
Kindly supported by Goethe Institute
This piece is performed in German and English with Swedish subtitles.
Presented with support from Göteborg & Co
Presented in the frame of Prospero Extended Theatre funded by Creative Europe