STEREOPHONIC

About the show

A recording studio in California, the 1970s. The five members of the band Stereophonic gather to record their new album. Their ambition to build upon the success of their last record – and, ideally, to surpass it – is running high. However, working in the studio presents the band members not only with musical challenges but also with personal ones: while they strive to produce some great songs, tensions between them steadily mount. Vocalist and guitarist Peter exerts immense pressure on his bandmates with his obsessive need for control, a pressure they increasingly begin to resist. His wife Diana, vocals, is enjoying success as a songwriter and nursing a growing desire for independence. Holly, vocals and keyboard, longs to live a self-determined life but, if the album is ever going to be completed, is forced to look after her cocaineaddicted ex, Reg, who plays the bass. Simon, on drums, is missing his wife and children back in England, whom he has not seen in years due to the demands of his career. Grover, the sound engineer, lied to secure the job and is unsure whether he is up to the task. Charlie, his assistant, may be the cousin of a member of the Doobie Brothers, but he, too, is completely out of his depth. How much does one have to sacrifice for the sake of art, and how is the greatest art created? How can you pursue your artistic ambitions to make something great when your colleagues aren’t as passionate as you? Can excessive perfectionism be destructive? What role does one’s private life play in the creative process? These are the questions explored in David Adjmi’s multi-award-winning play which premiered in New York and which Thomas Ostermeier is bringing to the stage this autumn for its German-language premiere. The music was composed by Will Butler, a founding member of the band Arcade Fire.