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Zack. A symphony

by Daniil Charms

A solo evening with Wolfram Koch

In cooperation with the Staatstheater Saarbrücken and the Théâtre National du Luxembourg

‘Actual reality can only be represented and achieved through new, absurd art’ (Daniil Charms)

Daniil Charms, born in St. Petersburg in 1905, is considered a master of absurd miniatures and a brilliant humorist. Critic Helmut Schödel once called his characters ‘marionettes of nonsense’ and ‘a feast for brilliant actors,’ and in Wolfram Koch, director Jakob Fedler has found just such a brilliant theatre actor. Wolfram Koch is one of Germany's most renowned theatre and television actors, performing on all the country's major stages. Among other roles, he plays the character of Chief Inspector Paul Brix in the Frankfurt ‘Tatort’ crime series.

But in the monologue ‘Zack. Eine Sinfonie.’ (Zack. A Symphony), Wolfram Koch appears this time as an entertainer, a clown and a player with a trumpet who simply has to play, dance and make music. Koch's main aim is to entertain his audience and make them laugh, but Daniil Charms' prose, poems, scenes and dialogues are always texts with a double meaning. Behind the humour lies the despair and distress of the characters. A Pushkin joke stands alongside the horror of a totalitarian state.

Charms' texts tell of the absurdities of life and the political circumstances of his time, which ultimately can perhaps only be countered with a large dose of nonsense or laughter, because comedy has always stood alongside tragedy.

An electrifying one-man show, in which humor masks the echoes of a twilight world.

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Stage and Costume Design: Dorien Thomsen

Music: Michael Haves

Cast: Wolfram Koch

Producers: Wolfram Koch, Jakob Fedler, Dorien Thomsen

Co-producers: Saarländisches Staatstheater, Théâtre National du Luxembourg