A CABAL OF HYPOCRITES. THE LIFE OF MR DE MOLIÈRE. Director Frank Castorf

Frank Castorf, Artistic Director of Volksbühne makes use of the Russian literature again. In Bulgakov’s „A Cabal of Hypocrites“ in front of his patron and respected critic King Louis XIV of France, Molière plays Molière playing in front of Louis XIV. The play premiered in 1663. It is about the intricate relationship between artists, the state and censorship. Centuries later and with Russia as frame of reference, Mikhail Bulgakov transfers the biography of the French theatre maker and playwright to Soviet reality. Initially censored in 1931, it finally premieres in Moscow in 1936. Bulgakov takes the part of Molière, King Louis XIV is Stalin. Now, what’s the situation today? Frank Castorf transposes this historically and politically double-referenced text into the present times ruled by the credo ‘anything goes’ in liberal societies. So, who is who?

Stage Designer: Aleksandar Denic

With Sophie Rois, Alexander Scheer, Georg Friedrich, Jeanne Balibar