Une île flottante / Das Weisse vom Ei

The ineffable grandeur of nothingness

Completely off-the-wall vaudeville where kitsch consorts with the sublime. Innocently radical theatre where time expands to reveal the inanity of social codes, the pitiful bankruptcy of the Western way of life and the impenetrable emptiness that permeates our lives. Welcome to the universe of Christoph Marthaler whose fabulous odes to the pathos of mankind have made him one of the leading lights of European theatre. A rare occasion to see a major work by an outstanding artist whose colossal œuvre discomfits and dismays, the better to bring theatre closer to life.

This controlled skid is based on a vaudeville farce by Eugène Labiche. It involves two clans, the Malingear and Ratinois families, eagerly overly exaggerating their social status in order to facilitate the marriage of their respective offspring, in love with each other. The Malingears speak French while the Ratinois speak German, which naturally aggravates things when the aim is to posture and show off.

Produced by Theater Basel + Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne
Directed by Christoph Marthaler in association with Anna Viebrock + Malte Ubenauf + Performers
Adapted from La Poudre aux yeux by Eugène Labiche
Performed by Marc Bodnar + Carina Braunschmidt + Charlotte Clamens + Raphael Clamer + Catriona Guggenbühl + Ueli Jäggi + Graham F. Valentine + Nikola Weisse
Set and costume design Anna Viebrock
Dramaturgy Malte Ubenauf

Co-produced by Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe (Paris) + Théâtre National de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées + Le Parvis – Scène Nationale Tarbes-Pyrénées (Ibos) with the support of Pro Helvetia – Fondation suisse pour la culture (Zurich)

Presented by Uniprix + Fondation Cole

Created at Theater Basel, December 21, 2013