SANKT FALSTAFF

In the organizer's words:

SANKT FALSTAFF
by Ewald Palmetshofer freely adapted from Shakespeare's "King Henry IV"

World premiere / commissioned work

Premiere January 22, 2025

Residenztheater

The coup d'état has succeeded. Multiple crises and long-planned coup scenarios have swept away the old government. Heinrich Bolingbrock and his followers rule the country like a quasi-king. But Henry is old and ill and there is no suitable successor in sight. In the shadow of this stumbling reign, however, business is going extremely well in Mrs. Flott's container pub. It is there that John, who is in every sense of the word an expansive man, spends his nights with his intimate friend Harri - a mismatched pair, united by a shared desire for sharp-tongued speech and plenty of beer. But when Harri receives an immoral offer from the center of power, it sheds new light not only on the future of the state, but also on John's friendship with Harri. Will he rise with Harri, or would he not instead have to ride the procreation of illiberal rule in his stride? Perhaps even at the cost of his own downfall?

The Austrian playwright Ewald Palmetshofer translates Shakespeare's history play, in which royal drama and comedy join hands in an astonishing way, into the near future in a linguistically polished and crudely comic way. Palmetshofer's new poem explores the (im)possibility of love in impossible times, which is also the theme of the two other great Shakespeare plays of this season - "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Romeo and Juliet " - albeit with different outcomes.

Artistic Director

Production Alexander Eisenach

Stage Daniel Wollenzin

Costumes Claudia Irro

Music Benedikt Brachtel, Sven Michelson

Lighting Verena Mayr

Video Oliver Rossol

Dramaturgy Constanze Kargl