Fast Forward

What does a student of directing at a theatre academy do when the academy has no money to hire actors for his final production? Theatre without performers? But with light, sound, fog and a few remote-controlled lawnmowers instead? With his team of five, Karl Sjölund chose a radically different way. They present the audience with a production, in which the protagonists on stage agree to follow performing instructions over an ear piece, without rehearsals, without knowing the text, roles or plot. A play that is written for this situation and staged down to the last detail meets an ensemble for whom everything that happens on the stage is completely unknown territory. What happens in this scenario?

Sjölund’s artistic response to a frustrating situation is intriguing, unexpected and provocative, not just with regard to the question of whether what’s happening here is still theatre. The title MUTE COMPULSION is taken from Karl Marx’s economic and social analysis of the “mute compulsion of economic relations” in the first volume of CAPITAL. As the title of a show, this sharp analysis of reality unfolds its very own field for interpretation.

Karl Sjölund *1986 started his artistic endeavours in the Swedish underground music scene. He organized events, printed fanzines and worked as a sound and stage designer and performer for various projects for the stage, in exhibitions and galleries. He then began studying directing at the Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating in 2022 with MUTE COMPULSION.

With Members of the ensemble of the Staatsschauspiel Dresden & guests

Concept, Text & Direction Karl Sjölund

Production, Casting & Lighting Design Maja Lindström / Sound Design, Software Development & Live Music Fabian Grytt / Scenography & Make-Up Greta Weibull / Costumes & Make-Up Pia Gyll / Choreography Lisen Ellard, Karl Sjölund / Translation from Swedish into German Maike Dörries / English Surtitles Corinne Hundleby, Setup & Operator Jakob Gerber