Liberté d'action
Scenic concert with texts by Henri Michaux»I no longer travel. Why should travel interest me?« says the clear, brittle voice of David Bennent, and we’re involuntarily touched to the heart. Sounds of prepared piano, a voice and live electronics, the bodies of the actor and two pianists. ›Liberté d’action‹, freedom of action, is strictly limited on stage – as in life.
Central to this new piece by the theatre-maker and composer Heiner Goebbels is the work of a non-conformist loner and outsider: Henri Michaux (1899–1984). Both outstanding painter and a highly modern and eloquent poet, his incantatory and explosive texts are a kind of exorcism of himself and the world.
Michaux’s fundamental mistrust of language is represented in this concert by the voice of David Bennent, which operates with multifaceted virtuosity in both French original and German translation. But its position is continually contested by the musical actions of the pianos.
In content, “Gegenwärtig lebe ich allein...” is a rebellion – without a concrete goal. [...] The audio play exudes an idiosyncratic, subtle horror, a terror which is simultaneously seductive. The listener’s curiosity is aroused [...].Süddeutsche Zeitung, Stefan Fischer
Heiner Goebbels has always honoured his audience by not making any aesthetic concessions to it.Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Wolfgang Sandner
