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Art and Vegetables, A. Hipler

GER 2004, 283 min

Schlingensief’s attempt at self-therapy after the trauma of directing PARSIFAL in Bayreuth.

Synopsis

ART AND VEGETABLES, A. HIPLER, the first collaboration between Zimbabwean-born director Hosea Dzingirai and Christoph Schlingensief, combines the traditional stage play with an exhibition within the theatre, a succession of scenes between the fine and performing arts, tonality and atonality; between drama and dilettantism, Wagner and Schönberg; between Berlin and Harare, Lüderitz and New York, decay and renewal; first and third world; movement and inertia; black and white; sick and healthy; Volksbühne and countryside; Richard and Wolfgang, house and garden, i.e.: art and vegetables.

The just under 80-minute-long evening concentrates and quotes images of the modern world, inhabited by consumers and figures, moving vessels, those who uphold Dzingirai and Schlingensief’s quest for modern man in a world of chaos and disintegration. The evening is held together by the watchful eye of author and ALS sufferer Angela Jansen, whose words are rendered legible via an iris-activated keyboard. The trio use the incorporation of classical theatrical elements, excerpts from Arnold Schönberg’s opera “From Today Until Tomorrow” and popular modern stage technology such as live video transmissions, calling them into question and destroying them, as they do the wall projection of a greengrocer's at the beginning. Whereas Udo Kier, Irm Hermann, Peter Kern and Corinna Harfouch play out their roles via huge screens, Schlingensief’s long-time collaborators Kerstin Grassmann and Horst Gelonik become living works of art. Peter Müller is excellent as Johannes Heesters, whose birthday is celebrated several times over – which is understandable considering the exceptionally advanced age of Mr. Heesters. The fact that the reason for the celebration has been forgotten by the end is irrelevant. Even memory faces its limits.

Content / 2 DVDs:
- "Art and Vegetables, A. Hipler" (Volksbühne Berlin, 27.2.2007, 105 min)
- "Art and Vegetables, A. Hipler" (live video recording, Volksbühne Berlin, 21.01.2005, 104 min)
- Theater films (Volksbühne Berlin, 2004/2005, 8 films: 50 min)
- Report on ALS patient Angela Jansen (2004, 6 min)
- Christoph Schlingensief – Interview (dctp.tv, 2008, 18 min)
- 20-page booklet with texts and photos

Credits

Director
Christoph Schlingensief
With
Matthias Badzong, Maria Baton, Klaus Beyer, Ulrike Bindert, Jürgen Drenhaus, Hosea Dzingirai, Andrea Erdin, Bernadette Gandaa, Horst Gelloneck, Kerstin Grassmann, Mario Hagelberg, Ferdinand Hendrich, David Ismail, Angela Jansen, Maximilian von Mayenburg, Peter Müller, Anna Prohaska, Christian Roethrich, Reami Rosignoli, Canivu Babatunde Saka, Katharina Schlothauer, Christiane Tsoureas, Christian Vogel, Anna Warnecke, Kirstin Warnke, Arno Waschk, Karin Witt, Schöneberger Schönberg-Orchester e.V.
Screenplay
Angela Jansen
Live Direction
Hosea Dzingirai
Co-Director
Park Yung Min
Set Design
Thekla von Mülheim
Assistant Set Design
Marc Bausback, Tobias Buser
Costume Design
Aino Laberenz
Assistant Costume Design
Anne-Luise Vierling
Dramaturgy
Carl Hegemann
Dramaturgical Advisor
Henning Nass
Artistic Collaboration
Jörg van der Horst
Video
Monika Böttcher
Assistant Video
Heike Schnepf
Additional Videos
Meika Dresenkamp, Robert Kummer
Musical Concept and Sounddesign
Uwe Altmann
Make-up Artist
Doretta Kraatz, Ilona Siefert
Assistant Director
Sophia Simitzis, Hedwig Pottag
Director's Trainee
Sarah Bräuer, Kai Krösche
Costume's Trainee
Claudia Gonschorek
Supervisor
Nathalie Noel
Theater Master
Hans-Werner Gramsch
Sound
Wolfgang Urzendowsky, Klaus Dobbrick
Video Equipment
Dirk Passebos, Jens Crull
Master Electrician
Torsten König
Props
Georg Buchmann
Costume Director
Ulrike Köhler
Women's Costumes
Bärbel Groppler
Men's Costumes
Udo Höft
Stage Management
Karin Bayer
Producer
Christoph Schlingensief
Produced by
Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Premiere
17.11.2004, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz
Theatre Performances
17.11.2004 - 27.02.2007

DVD-Details

Content
"Art and Vegetables, A. Hipler" (Volksbühne Berlin, 27.2.2007, 105 min – English Subtitles), "Art and Vegetables, A. Hipler" (live video recording, Volksbühne Berlin, 21.01.2005, 104 min), Theater films (Volksbühne Berlin, 2004/2005, 8 films: 50 min – no dialogue), Report on ALS patient Angela Jansen (2004, 6 min), Christoph Schlingensief – Interview (dctp.tv, 2008, 18 min)
Language
German
Subtitles
English
Country Code
Code-free
System
PAL / Color
Length
283 min
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound Format
DD 2.0
Set-Content
Digipack (Set Content: 2), 20-page booklet with texts and photos
Release date
26.10.2018
FSK
Info-Programm gemäß §14 JuSchG