Captain Nemo’s Library

The SWR festival in Schwetzingen will produce an unusual adaptation of “Captain Nemo’s Library”, based on the novel of the same name by Per Olov Enquist. The production combines contemporary music theatre, modern puppet theatre and New Music. Thematically, the piece adheres closely to the story in the novel: Two boys growing up in the same village in Sweden are switched at birth in the 1940s. The later discovery sparks a chain of loss, tragedy and death in both families. The themes of this psychologically insightful panorama of society – identity, doubling, alienation and social exclusion – are also musically explored by the renowned composer Johannes Kalitzke. For example, the protagonists’ coming-of-age is depicted in a series of acoustic metamorphoses, while the topic of alienation is portrayed in surreal acoustic constructions and electronically distorted animal sounds and everyday noises. The fantastical character is strengthened further by the Puppentheater Halle and its unique performance method. The puppeteers are not only the “movers” behind the scenes, but also perform in full view as doppelgänger and co-actors.

The world premiere featuring a libretto by Julia Hochstenbach and instrumentation by the Ensemble Modern will be performed at the SWR festival in Schwetzingen in 2022. The planned collaboration with the Bregenz Festival promises to enhance its international visibility.

Artistic director: Heike Hoffmann
Composition: Johannes Kalitzke
Libretto: Julia Hochstenbach
Stage director: Christoph Werner
Artists: Ensemble Modern, Noa Frenkel, Ines Heinrich-Frank, Rinnat Moriah, Johanna Zimmer, Lars Frank, luri lushkevich, Reuben Willcox and others

World premiere at the Rokokotheater, Schwetzingen: 21 Mar. – 2 May 2022; performances in the Werkstattbühne, Bregenz: 23 – 29 Jul. 2022