Woyzeck (2008/2009)

Woyzeck (2008/2009)

‘Woyzeck’ is Georg Büchner’s famous unfinished play about the lowly soldier Franz Woyzeck’s descent into murderous madness. Living in poverty, with his woman, Marie, and a child to support, Woyzeck has agreed to become a medical experiment for the regimental Doctor. But is it his diet of peas that leads him into the forest with a knife, or the rumours of what Marie has been doing with the peacocking Drum Major?

Taking the Brechtian idea of episodic theatre to its natural conclusion, we tell the story of Woyzeck as a sequence of scenes that play in a seemingly random order. Three performers switch in and out of multiple roles, acting as hosts and guides, introducing each scene as a music hall act, as piece by piece the whole picture is revealed.

By turns horrific and hilarious, ‘Woyzeck’ uses minimal props, lighting and costume and an abundance of theatrical invention to draw the audience into a fractured world.

After over one hundred performances across the UK, we took our production of Woyzeck to the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

"...has to rank as one of the most colourful and intelligent interpretations of the work since Tom Waits and Robert Wilson got their hands on it."

British Theatre Guide

“Engaging, funny, accessible and thought-provoking”

Stuart Borrill, Assistant Head,
Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School

“Amazing theatre”

Heather Andrew, Head of Drama,
Pipers Corner School

“...Fun but challenging... the performance was sensational”

Kym Martin, Head of Drama, Cobham Hall

“A stunning interpretation”

Guy Levensley, Drama Teacher, Repton School


Splendid Productions' 'Woyzeck'
By Georg Büchner
Adapted by Ben Hales and Mal Smith
Directed by Mal Smith and
Lucy Cuthbertson
Songs by Duke Special & Ben Hales,
Mal Smith
Design by Kerry Frampton



Clip from Splendid's Woyzeck
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