The darkness of the heart
Luk Perceval’s “Macbeth“ – Made in Russia
von Maria Shevtsova
Erschienen in: Arbeitsbuch 2019: Luk Perceval (07/2019)
Luk Perceval is a figure admired by Russian theatregoers, mainly for the productions performed at the Baltic House Festival in Saint Petersburg, an annual event founded in 1990 to maintain contact with the countries on the Baltic rim by showcasing their theatres. This was the time shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the imperative not to become isolated from former Soviet-sphere regions or from capitalist Europe was all the more pressing because the city constructed by Peter I was always intended to be a European city.
“Othello”, performed with the Münchner Kammerspiele, was the first of Perceval’s productions to be invited to Baltic House (2005), followed by “Uncle Vanya” (Het Toneelhuis, Antwerpen, 2006), “Death of a Salesman” (Schaubühne, Berlin, 2008), “The Cherry Orchard” (2012) and “The Brothers Karamazov” (2013), the latter two originating from Hamburg’s Thalia Theatre. “Macbeth”, which premiered in May 2014, was the first commissioned by Baltic House to be performed in Russia with this theatre’s actors, and it has remained in repertoire to the present day.
The 2017 festival brought Perceval’s six-hour “Trilogy of My Family – Love, Money, Hunger” (2015–2017), which he adapted from Émile Zola’s twenty-volume “Les Rougon-Macquart”, staged for the Thalia...
