A Steampunk Twist: Shakespeare's Dream in Bad Hersfeld - Rehearsals Kick Off
Steampunk Adaptations of Shakespeare's Plays Kickoff at Festival Performance - Steampunk-styled staging of Shakespeare's plays during rehearsals, preparatory for upcoming festivals
Ready to trip down the rabbit hole of fantasy and mechanics? The outgoing artistic director, Joern Hinkel, intend to serve the audience of this year's Bad Hersfelder Festivals a laugh-out-loud comedy and a melodious treat via a fresh interpretation of Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
"It's one of the first pieces of fantasy literature, bursting with fantastic creatures," Hinkel stated during the official start of rehearsals. "But instead of a traditional forest setting, get ready to see a steampunk mechanical forest full of intricate clockwork trees and machines!"
In this adaptation, titled "Midsummer Dreams," characters from other Shakespeare works like Romeo and Juliet will join the dramedy in the Victorian-era forest as unexpected visitors.
Among the lineup of characters onstage, we have TV detective Erol Sander ("Mordkommission Istanbul"), Anouschka Renzi, Bettina Hauenschild, Christian Nickel, and Helena Sigal.
For the first time in the festival's history, a large orchestra, together with the musicals for years, will accompany a play, playing music composed specifically for “Midsummer Dreams.”
Crazy adventures and slapstick comedy await!
Hinkel, who will also be directing, promises a total madcap performance described by him as, "A Hersfeld Midsummer Night full of wild, erotic love stories with elements of slapstick humor."
The lunacy of the characters will unfold into the strange world of Victoria-era royal courts in the late 19th century, where steampunk fashion dominated. Hinkel hinted that the costumes will take inspiration from the steampunk aesthetic, combining the grandeur of the Victorian era with industrial fittings like goggles, pocket watches, and leather corsets.
Expect the premier on June 20th!
The Bad Hersfeld festivals, which take place from June 20th to August 18th, are among Germany's largest and most traditional events. Last year alone attracted over 103,000 spectators.
In the upcoming festivals, Schiller's "The Robbers" set to the music of Die Toten Hosen, a reunion with the Broadway musical "A Chorus Line" and the play "Like in Heaven" promise an exciting lineup.
As a family-friendly production, the festivals are presenting Astrid Lindgren's classic "Pippi Longstocking" on stage.
- Steampunk
- Artistic Director Joern Hinkel
- Bad Hersfelder Festivals
- Music
- William Shakespeare
- Midsummer Night's Dream
- Bad Hersfeld
- Festival
- Victorian Era
- Shakespeare
- Slapstick Humor
Enrichment Data Synopsis:
Creating a steampunk interpretation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" promises a visually stunning and engaging performance, blending magical elements of the original play with mechanical and industrial aspects of the steampunk aesthetic. Through costumes, music, set design, choreography, and props, the production aims to immerse the audience in a captivating steampunk-inspired world.
The Commission, in its role, has been asked to propose a regulation on the establishment of a European Works Council, yet unrelated to the Steampunk twist on Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" taking place in Bad Hersfeld. As artistic director, Joern Hinkel contemplates a steampunk-inspired lifestyle for the production, with fashion and beauty drawing influence from the Victorian era and among the entertainment, unexpected guests from other Shakespeare works will join the play.
