An exploration of the perpetuation of racism and bigotry in society, set among a group of underemployed youths in a small town (16mm black & white film and live performance).
Ticket cost: 25
The reviews are in.
“Rainer Werner Fassbinder lived hard, died young and left an unattractive, drug-bloated corpse. But before his death in 1982, this prolific German filmmaker and playwright imparted a mesmeric vision-gained from firsthand experience-of a seamy, disenfranchised world. Yet in the latter work now being given a most adept local premiere by Frank Theatre, the cynicism is a shade more muted, its social criticism more pointed and leaning ever so slightly to the Marxist. With its short scenes and rapidly shifting locales, KATZELMACHER’s technique proceeds rather more like cinema than theater. Frank Theatre’s director and co-founder Wendy Knox translates it to the stage with fluid economy and anchors it in emotional directness.” –Maggi Kramm, St. Paul Pioneer Press
“You see it all over the world: in Azerbaijan, in the Gaza Strip, in Kashmir. If you look closely, you will probably find it on the street where you live. It’s bigotry; the refusal of one group to recognize the humanity of another and instead concentrate on differences, both real and imagined. It’s bigotry that is at the heart of Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s KATZELMACHER, getting a stark, no nonsense staging by Frank Theatre. KATZELMACHER is a dramatically limited play. It is more cautionary parable than credible drama. Yet, for all of its dramatic limitations, it is a powerful, committed play that is certainly as relevant now as when it was written. Knox gives it a slowly paced reading that stresses the nastiness of the characters and their grimy corner of the world. She is careful to fully expose the face of bigotry and allows us to see its mechanics and characteristics in full flower.” –Peter Vaughan, Star Tribune
