It sets up itself before the large, white canvas at the back of the empty stage in the Hamburg Thalia theatres, as if it could not cloud Wässerchen. It carries high, black Stöckelschuhe, thin, violet Kniestrümpfe, a scarce, creme Hängerchen. The hands are spread laterally, the head are easily to the right shoulder bent, the view somewhere in the approximate between Koketterie and humility, computation and bankruptcy arranged: perfect a doll, de luxe. Instead of from plastics from young meat and with a speedy understanding.

The actress Fritzi Haberlandt shows as franc Wedekinds Lulu in the production of Michael Thalheimer from the outset, how this female desire machine functions. Because it came completely casually on the stage, took its neckische float, registered, how the public grew silent. Then it went, confirmed in its effect and contently with the test result.

In the autopsy light Wedekinds

“A Monstretragödie” called Wedekind in the sub-title the 1894 final fünfaktige original version of its late than “Lulu” notorious tragedy, which he had to rework and defuse in the course forced of approximately twenty years, become, by censorship such as court processes, several times. Only in Peter Zadeks production on Hamburg Schauspielhaus the 1988 she was rediscovered with its tabooless Drastik and hard language. But how differently the history of a woman would leave itself to tell, on whom the men fell themselves such as moths into the candle light and burn as expected, without this would be the next Schwärmer a warning? Of the anything it does not admit is except that it itself already as a child prostitute? And those their survival strategies by a manifold sexual offer pallet and a permanent availability perfected?

With its “humor on death and life”, typical according to Alfreds, Wedekind describes the relationship of the sexes by the example of a road girl, who descends in the elevated society environment up and immediately back into the Gosse. He does this in the ice-coldest autopsy light, as if its Monstres would have already died by too much wrong moral, spiessbürgerliche excesses and other “Donquichotterien of the humanly conscious one” at the best age.

The pieces on the bones

In the Thalia theatres rise up laterally the ramp and over it powerful headlights, which likewise produce a clinically over-sharp atmosphere between corpse looking house and photo studio on the stage emptied by Olaf Altmann. There are no lauschigen angles and no discrete Hintertürchen. Who arises, is to be seen clear; which it or it drives, also. With Michael Thalheimer, which acquired itself its Reputation as it were as a director with the Skalpell, because he goes to the pieces off gladly up to the bones and cuts everything else, remains also here nothing in the dark.

In its, hardly two-hour performance in a bald contact yard, which is based on Wedekinds original version, is Lulu its only approach place. This Kannibalin of the senses makes the fantasies of the men true and wins thereby self certainty: The more she is desired, feels the stronger her. At the end it ersticht a Lustmörder from highest appreciation.

Lulu groans only once up

Fritzi Haberlandts Lulu is experienced kind, flexibly applicable Dienstleisterin citizen of Berlin everlasting with the aura would ferment. In each act it changes the Minikleidchen and the period of life companions. Her first married man doctor Goll about, which Christoph Bantzer plays like party leagues an accountant, dies at heart failure, when he gets it with the painter black. Hans Löw shows that as hormoneal overridden face-cloth, which strips the Boxershorts in short distances for impulse removal.

When Lulu pray-reprimands it with the editor-in-chief Schöning, he cuts through himself the throat. Before however it requires, sobering up and frightens, account. The journalist, built by Norman hacker strongly on the soil of the unfinished facts, throws himself with exposed abdomen into authoritarian float: Finally black married “one half million” and no poor innocence lamb. When Schöning of late Lulu wants to force to the suicide, this shoots him short hand. Besides its son Alwa and the kindist Rodrigo will let fall because of Lulu still the trousers and will die. Only they, deretwegen this Exhibitionen happen, remain internally cool and outside attraction. While the other orgiastische comments roar or grunzen wordless on it, them groan only once to up with the lethal measurer in the belly.

Desire and grind and dead dance

Here the corona of terriblly ridiculous man pictures, there sovereign-calculates exciting superwoman, between them Maren harrow/selvedge RTS devoted lesbian countess Geschwitz, whose rises Lulu points indignant from itself, because they do not fit into their pattern from service and achievement: Thalheimer evaluates none of them and hangs them also no social, political or aesthetic Tarnmäntelchen over. It lets it rather the colors of desire and grind and dead dance admit.

There they stand now, often rainless, far, strangely curved in sexual greed and emotional immunity. In Paris about, on the escape after Schönings shooting, when a white slave trader Lulu extorts dreist, turns Felix Knopp as its new lover Alwa only bored away. In London then, the last stop, Schigolch and Alwa do not remember their alleged father at all, the dripping wet Lulu, which goes for them on the line warming between itself.

Fin de siècle plant in 21. Century

As a fulfilment and without it would have gotten it, suddenly the last suitor is there, Jack the Ripper, which Michael Benthin equips with verschlagenem charm. After the blood act Lulus appears face maskful solidified on the video wall in large admission: a beautiful, expensive doll as broken weggeschmissen at the beginning, now however and.

Thus Michael Thalheimers production does not tie to a scandal of the end of the nineteenth century, which would work in times of Telefonsex and Internet pornography rapidly ranzig. Its stout-heartet unsentimentale analysis of impulse structures and power hierarchies between Männlein and woman flax has the Fin de siècle plant Lulu in 21. Century elevated - and it did not have to change itself over little.

Text: Frankfurt general newspaper, 01.03.2004, No. 51/page 36 Pictorial material: German Press Agency/German Press Agency Web