Heiner Mueller. Quarter, Hamlet Machine, Mauser
Heiner Müller is a German dramatist and poet who has written about 40 plays in 40 years. An introductory article by T. Bassakova «Death in Theater» included Müller’s most famous works: «Quartet» (1980), «Hamlet Machine» (1977) and «Mauser» (1970).
The objective was to highlight the conceptual and linguistic diversity of dramatizing, choosing different plays and applying unique plastic solutions to each work. The publication highlights the literary features common to the three works, while the plays are considered in terms of spatial relations within the text.
Introductory article. Building a turnover
Schmutztitules. Building a turnover
«Quartet» is a play based on the event of the epistolar novel «Dangerous Relationships». Researches the boundary between love and cruelty, describing the relationship between Viconte de Valmon and his three victims. Two actors try on the roles of four characters, gradually re-establishing the dialogues between them.
The Quartet. Building a turnover
Hamlet Machine is a five-part complex structural work based on Shakespeare’s play. It contains long monologues that resemble the transcript of the flow of consciousness; it rethinks the process of acting. The search for a new dramatic form caused by the crisis of European culture.
Hamlet Machine. Building a turnover
«Mauzer» is a text about the power of violence in the form of a poem, a rugged dialogue between a nameless hero and a crowd that uses the motives of M. Sholokhov’s novels. Initially, not a repertoire play is built on multiple repetitions and has little punctuation.
Mauser. Building a turnover
«It’s already ruined, there’s nothing more to destroy. That’s the paradox that defines Müller’s essence. He does not grieve, as one might think, for what has been destroyed. More like the other way around. He believes that the destroyed world was far worse than the ruins themselves.»
