Falstaff

Let’s get drunk on life !
Photo: Birgit Hupfeld
by William Shakespeare
Theatre
In German
Depot 1
Duration:
3 hours • 15 min • one intermission
Premiere:
18th March 2022
Power struggle in England. In a brief period of deceptive peace, rebels revolt against the king who, in their opinion, is sitting on the throne unjustly. Troubled times, then – and in the middle of it all, an outsider: Falstaff, the sensuous, party and alcohol-loving knight without a horse.

The stage character created by Shakespeare, has not only left his mark in adaptations of the material for opera, film and theatre, but has become the epitome of hedonism and, as such, the eponym of a gourmet magazine. Shakespeare features him in several of his pieces, most prominently as the protagonist in the dramas KING HENRY IV PART 1+2, at the side of Prince Hal, who is destined to be the heir to the throne and to whom he is bound in deep friendship. While the prince first and foremost wrestles with dilemmas between hedonism and rationality, partying and raison d'état, the underdog Falstaff clearly prefers to spend his life in pubs rather than on the battlefields. He keeps his head above water with street robbery and war profiteering and uses witty rhetoric with mastery to repeatedly save himself from delicate situations.


Following Jan Bosse’s production of WAITNG FOR GODOT in September 2020, the production of FALSTAFF, which was already in the pipeline pre-Corona, is finally to celebrate its premiere in March 2022 under Bosse’s direction. Speaking of which: what was that about celebrating? The celebration of life? Even – or especially – in difficult times…
Direction: Jan Bosse
Stage Design: Moritz Müller
Costume: Kathrin Plath
composition: Arno Kraehahn · Carolina Bigge
Lighting: Michael Gööck
Dramaturgy: Gabriella Bußacker