Three Times the World

Two hundred and fifty years ago, travelling was not only an adventurous, but also exhausting undertaking which would often push travellers to their limits. Nowadays, thanks to mass tourism it's possible to reach every corner of the earth comfortably and at no personal risk. In fact, people choose to bungee-jump off the Golden Gate Bridge in order to get their adrenaline kick.

This makes it all the more impressive when one reads the travelogue of a man who sailed around the world at age 17. Georg Forster, writer, researcher and one-time revolutionary, is the focus of this newly developed play. Highly esteemed as a literary scholar by Weimar's Classical poets, despised by most German intellectuals for attempting to anchor the great French Revolution on German soil as a functionary of the Mainz Republic, Förster is undoubtedly one of the most fascinating and contentious figures of the 18th century. Mainz, which was once the scene of deep-seated political upheaval, and Classical Weimar, which cultivated a reputation as a temple of art, are both connected to Förster's biography in various ways. Director and playwright Jan Neumann, members of the DNT ensemble and the Staatstheater Mainz have teamed up to explore these connections and develop a play which addresses the topic of "travel" of the past and present – a research expedition that will premiere in Weimar and Mainz. 

Stage direction: Jan Neumann
Set design: Matthias Werner
Costume design: Mascha Mihoa Bischoff
Dramaturgy: Beate Seidel, Jörg Vorhaben

Premiere at the DNT on 8 February 2018 at the E-Werk

Premiere at the Staatstheater Mainz on 17 February 2018 in the Kleines Haus