Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas is a fascinating character, whose ambivalence still provokes debate today. Kohlhaas, the “good citizen”, decides to take the role of avenging angel upon himself in order to punish a provincial tycoon who has used corruption and his connections to avoid the consequences of the law. This Kohlhaas, a “most horrible” human being, ravages towns and murders innocent people, because the “system” has denied him, the injured party, the protection under which he usually carries out his otherwise very “peaceful trade”, and without which he ends up with the “savages in the wilderness”. Merle Zurawski implants the themes and conflicts, narratives and aesthetics of her own generation into the KOHLHAAS matrix and brings it into play with the present in a multi-layered, unsentimental way. The famous love for horses takes up a central motif of the story, but it is given a broader perspective. Kleist’s world is defined masculinity, taking us on a journey through status, power, money, terror and the preservation of order, but Merle Zurawski mixes in samples from the many voices of different genders, revolts, emancipation and solidarity, issues which are nonetheless up for discussion in the same competitive arena as Kleist’s masculine world.
Merle Zurawski (they/them/he/him), *2000, completed their degree in directing at the Academy of Performing Arts Baden-Württemberg in 2025 with I LOVE HORSES ... Merle Zurawski writes, performs, directs and uses their own work to research the boundaries between acting, performance, film and dance, pop culture and political activism.
With Janne Pauline Böhm, Adriana Fernandez Falso, Trigal Sandberger Cañas
Concept & Directing Merle Zurawski Dramaturgy Jana Riese, Philipp Schulze Scenography Nele Schiller Costume Kathrin Frech Music Dmitry Klenin Videodesign Maja Litzke Sounddesign Cäcilie Willkommen Lighting Michael Frank Choreography Rebecca de Toro Voices Audio Clips Michaela Allendorf, Tobias Neumann, Lasse Lehmann, Nemo Hanse, Mateja Kardelis, Arne Kerst & Jan Müller Technical Set-up at the Schauspiel Stuttgart Stefan Schäfer Artistic Director ADK Ludger Engels Technical Director ADK Friedemann Klappert Production Management ADK Monika Schumm Production Bachelor’s degree performance of the Akademie für Darstellende Kunst Baden-Württemberg (ADK) in cooperation with Schauspiel Stuttgart, Hochschule für Bildende Künste Dresden / Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Photos Björn Klein, Annette Hausschild (Portrait Merle Zurawski)
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