The Theatre Maker

About the show

The final premiere at the Small House is a grand farce about theater, a playful and biting reflection on the art form itself. After "The Book of Disquiet" and "The Neverending Story," the current artistic director bids farewell to Düsseldorf with a true classic of modern theater. The self-proclaimed state actor Bruscon travels from place to place with his family. He once played Faust in Berlin and Mephistopheles in Zurich. But that was a long time ago. Today, he's bringing with him "The Wheel of History"—a monumental work of his own making, a comedy that is actually a tragedy, because, as we all know, we can learn nothing from it. From Nero to Napoleon, from Metternich to Hitler, they're all there, the great tyrants of world history. They are all played by Bruscon's family: his wife Agathe, their two children Sarah and Ferruccio, and, of course, himself. The actor tours the darkest backwaters, launching into evening-long tirades and ruthlessly settling scores with everything: the art of theater itself and his own family. He really knows how to put on a show. And at the cost of his own ridicule, Bruscon defends to the very end what is most important to him – the theater.