Never has a first night audience been so active as for The Show Must Go On! by Jérôme Bel. There was laughter, applause, songs taken up in chorus, as well as a whole series of comments ranging from the enthusiastic to the grossly vulgar. The French choreographer, well-known for his provocative productions, had got his sums right. It was not the performers who, as is usually the case, played the fool for the public. This time the audience themselves took over the roles and they did not always appreciate doing so. “We're only provincials,” ironised a Hanseatic provincial. A lady who was more subtle diagnosed, “It's the agony of expectation”. which was relevant for all those who at the theatre still only expect theatre.
Bel engages, albeit on an empty stage and in almost total darkness, in a reflection on what theatre is and the means it has at its disposal. In an age where everything is surface, artifice or façade, he seeks the invisible moment of authenticity or truth. The new troupe of the Schauspielhaus appears without the armour plating of costume and make-up, but as they really are, face to face with their public. Without their know-how, the performers are as naked as the day they were born. Bel has given them the courage - and the awareness to send the ball into the other court for once: to take the liberty to watch closely those by whom they are normally watched themselves. It is a DJ who determines the framework and time of the action. As the producer's alter ego, he calmly puts on one record after another. Like God he separates darkness from light, and creates a world (of performance) whose rules of behaviour, laid down by the words of all too well known pop songs, we can follow or not as we choose. To “ Let's dance” by David Bowie, we dance; to “ Killing me softly with his song”, we sing and die softly.
Through repetition by illustration, Bel ironises on the way our perception of the imaginary is reduced by stereotypes and the influence of the media. All art begins with not knowing. By dreaming of dance and theatre, Bel and the Schauspielhaus publicly admit to this. That is why we owe them our sympathy or at least our respect.
hamburger abendblatt 02.10.2000