INSIDE BISMARCK

Otto von Bismarck writes his memoirs and meticulously works on his image for posterity. His wife Johanna, however, takes him back to the time before their wedding and we meet a younger Bismarck who does not correspond to the ideal at all. 23 years old, plagued by inner conflict, enormous debts and a disgust for the prevailing bureaucratic system, he fights for meaning in his life. In Johanna he finds a kindred spirit. She is able to listen to the many mocking, ironic, powerful voices inside Bismarck. In many battles over truth and lies, love and politics, religion, nature and poetry, documented in their letters, the two make a pact. The famous but little-known correspondence shows us a radically different Bismarck and adds a new, surprisingly modern facet to our idea of him. In fact, the examination of Bismarck's world of thought and his "policy of moderation" is a very current contribution to the discussion on how to deal with borders and nationalisms in today's Europe.

Text/Direction:

Gabriele Schelle

Dramaturgy:

Visual Concept:

Joanna Ossolinska

With: