Der Menschenfeind

How do we want to talk to one another, live together, and love one another? How much truth can we handle? How much openness can our relationships withstand? How much reality can love endure? Through biting verbal duels, The Misanthrope explores fundamental questions that straddle the line between radical honesty and a workable compromise.

Le Misanthrope is a sparkling satire on social hypocrisy that, in its existential depth, has lost none of its relevance to this day. At its core lies the irreconcilable conflict between uncompromising idealism and a world in which self-promotion and lies are considered normal social graces. Themes such as social conformity, morality in everyday life, the desire for authenticity, and debates about ways of life and relationships are universal. In the age of social media and self-optimization, this text from 1666 is astonishingly relevant today.

Jette Steckel, a director with long-standing ties to the Thalia Theater and the recipient of numerous awards—known for her visually striking and emotionally rich works—stages Molière’s comedy as a triptych of music, film, and theater.