Woyzeck - Adaptations

Adaptations

The many adaptations of Woyzeck include:

• an opera by Alban Berg (Wozzeck)
• a 1979 movie by Werner Herzog (Woyzeck)
• a 1994 movie by János Szász
• a 2010 movie by Francis Annan, the first English-language feature-length movie adaptation. This was filmed at, and used students from, Xaverian College.
• a musical by Robert Wilson and Tom Waits; the songs from which are on Waits's Blood Money album
• Tom Waits has a song on his album Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards, entitled "Children's Story", which is based on Woyzeck
• a modernized play, Re: Woyzeck by Jeremy Gable (in which Georg Büchner becomes a character in his own play)
• the play Skin by Naomi Iizuka
• production of the play by Vesturport, an Iceland-based theatre company, directed by Gísli Örn Gardarsson.
• a puppet theater version "Woyzeck on the highveld", by South African based Handspring Puppet Company, directed by William Kentridge
• a play by Splendid Productions which performs the scenes as they were found, rather than chronologically
• A play in 2009 at the Malthouse Theatre, Melbourne, Australia. Director Michael Kantor with Music by Nick Cave & Warren Ellis
• Production of the play by Toto Funds the Arts and Rafiki; adapted and directed by Anmol Vellani (India)
• Mailman (Postchi, 1971), a film by the Iranian new wave master Dariush Mehrjui.
• a 2007 production at the Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama, Woyzeck was re-worked by Director Dan Rigazzi to take place in 1951 and reflect themes of racial pressure in the army. Also, with the help of the Carnegie Mellon University German Language Department, pieces of the original Clarus Report were translated to English and incorporated in the text and structure of the production.
• A ballet production named Léonce et Léna inspired of Woyzeck by Christian Spuck was held in October and November 2010 by "Les Grands Ballets Canadiens" in Montreal.
• a modernized version of woyzeck played by the Belgian theatregroup,'NTGent' and 'Toneelgroep Ceremonia' in fall 2010. The director, Eric De Volder died the night after the première.
• A 2011 play by three Portuguese young actors, António Mortágua, Catarina Rosa and Vera Barreto; Woyzeck, from Georg Büchner. The text was followed precisely through a scenic arrangement where the audience is facing a door, Woyzeck "António Mortágua" is sitting in a sofa with his back to the door and the other two actors play from the street. It was played in a small theater room in Lisbon, from March 30 to April 17 with very intimate small audience sessions of ten people at a time.
• After a successful black box production, it was accepted to perform at the Philadelphia Fringe festival in late August to early September in 2011. The adaptation was performed by students from Muhlenberg College. Directed by Zach Trebino, an alumni from Muhlenberg.
• A new musical theatre adaptation by Christopher Carter Sanderson titled "Woyzeck Musical Deathmetal" was supported by a Fulbright grant in early 2011 at Norway's EFTN. The adaptation was produced at KRT in workshop form, November 2011 for three performances, with lighting design by Ryan Hauenstein, costumes, Mary Anne Davis, and with Max Schneller in the role of Woyzeck. The adaptation in this format is performing in the Times Square International Theater Festival, January 2012 www.tsitf.com
• A Hindi adaptation entitled 'Waseem', written and directed by Sharmistha Saha, Research Scholar at the Free University of Berlin, was performed by the students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Drama Club and Wings Cultural Society on the January 21 and 22, 2012 at the School of Arts and Aesthetics, JNU, New Delhi.
• A modern adaptation (simply entitled "Woyzeck") was directed by Michael Hunt at The University of Virginia's College at Wise in late 2011. The cast alternated the order of the scenes each night, allowing the audience members to choose the order based on scene numbers and a one line summary of the scene.
• A 2012 re-translation by Nicolas Babson and directed by Ben Roberts took place at The Headwaters Theatre in Portland, Oregon.
• A modern adaptation entitled "Woyzceck" was performed at the University of Wollongong by second year acting students. Directed by Christopher Ryan, it incorporated quotes and influences from modern artists such as Heiner Müller and Tom Waits
• A free adaptation (simply entitled "Woyzeck") by playwright Neil LaBute premiered at the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts and Cinema on November 1, 2012 and ran through November 11, 2012. The adaptation was directed by 3-time OBIE winner Bob McGrath.
• A run at the New Diorama Theatre, London in October 2012 of "The Woyzeck", a new adaptation and translation by Sebastian Rex, produced by Rex's company Acting Like Mad. Theatrical Niche Ltd and Acting Like Mad have co-produced a subsequent Regional and Greater London Tour of "The Woyzeck" in early Spring 2013. A text version is available from PlayDead Press - The Woyzeck / Spare, translation and adaptation by Sebastian Rex (PlayDead Press, 2012)