Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015
Photo: Arno Declair, 2015 
 

Plastic

by Marius von Mayenburg
Direction: Marius von Mayenburg
World Premiere
Globe

03/15/2017, 20.00–22.15

Michael and Ulrike are close to breaking point. Their work is overwhelming, their son is hitting puberty far too early, and Ulrike’s boss, the successful conceptual artist Mr Haulupa, constantly shatters their fragile domestic idyll with ever more demands. A domestic help would take the load off their shoulders. And so they hire the young Jessica, who soon becomes an indispensable part of the family. Jessica tidies up, does the dishes, cooks, looks after the boy and always has a sympathetic ear to lend to the couple’s troubles. But who is she really? Has anyone even asked her? And how do you treat people appropriately when you suddenly find yourself in the role of employer, especially when you have always championed the rights of the socially disadvantaged, not least in your creative work? What do you give her for Christmas? Money? Sure, but how much? At what amount does a present become an insult? Then Ulrike’s boss, Serge Haulupa wants Jessica as a performer for his installations. Her task is to do the things she does every day in her job anyway: clean unhygienic places. But this time in front of an audience. This verges on humiliation, but it’s for the sake of art. Isn’t it?

>>> Essay about the production in Pearson's Preview: Tormenting the Cleaning Lady: Marius von Mayenburg’s »Plastic«

Direction: Marius von Mayenburg
Stage and Costume Design: Nina Wetzel
Music: Matthias Grübel
Video: Sébastien Dupouey
Dramaturgy: Maja Zade
Light Design: Erich Schneider
Ulrike: Marie Burchard
Michael: Robert Beyer
Vincent: Laurenz Laufenberg
Serge Haulupa: Sebastian Schwarz
Jessica Schmitt: Jenny König
Duration: ca. 135 minutes

Premiered on 25 April 2015