DIE BEICHTE

Not perpetrator or victim, not the search for someone to blame, no black-and-white portrayal. It is about the human being in all their vulnerability and longing for love. Yet the line between love and hate is wafer-thin. Every one of our smallest and most insignificant thoughts, words and deeds has consequences throughout the entire universe. Throw a stone into a pond – it sends ripples across the whole surface of the water. The circles merge into one another and create new ones. Everything is inextricably interwoven.

Hence: no naturalistic confessional scene, but a sacrificial table.
The actors are androgynous „human bodies“ who pass their story on to one another again and again. All the characters are completely equal. It is not about profession or status. It does not matter whether priest or teacher, father or brother, man or woman. It is about the assertion of how three „human bodies“ function. The church is merely the hook.
For me it is important, instead of reciting what has been learnt by heart, to live what is felt within; instead of looking down arrogantly and condescendingly, to stand up, move on and convey.

Markus Plattner

PRESS

KRONENZEITUNG (14 October 2006)

THE HELL OF A TORMENTED SOUL

Standing ovations for „Die Beichte“ by Felix Mitterer in Vomp.
The premiere of Mitterer's „Die Beichte“ …… in Vomp becomes a breathtaking psychological thriller. …. Markus PLATTNER looks into the souls of the characters. …..In doing so, he does not shy away from violence. Yet PLATTNER pulls off a masterstroke, making violence – physical and psychological – visible and palpable for everyone in the audience without actually enacting it on stage.
His coherent interpretation is realised perfectly and with great intensity by the three actors. Although only 14 years old, Juliane HARING performs with great subtlety. Reinhard FORCHER does justice to every shade of the priest. ……. The authenticity is heightened by the set (Christian GREIDERER) and the costumes (Silvia FRITZ). Lighting design (Ralf WAPPLER) and music (Mike MOLL) intensify the atmosphere. A small stage presents great theatre!

TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG (14 October 2006)

AN ACCUSING CONFESSION

A stirring evening of theatre in Vomp …..

Director Markus PLATTNER brings the multi-layered drama of the soul to the stage very directly, almost brutally. The quieter tones are almost lost despite an impressive set (Christian GREIDERER), the atmospheric lighting design (Ralf WAPPLER) and the excellent sound design (Mike MOLL)……Reinhard FORCHER is outstanding as Father Eberhart. He shifts between the flatterer and the self-flagellating sinner. Juliane HARING shows the child in all its vulnerability. The audience was moved and thrilled.

DARSTELLENDES SPIEL (October 2006)

DIE BEICHTE REDISCOVERED

Dr. Ekkehard SCHÖNWIESE.
…….. What I saw in the performance was anything but realistic. It was not about the external case of child abuse….. Indeed, it was not even about analysing the fact that a victim of sexual abuse later becomes a perpetrator. …. Nor is there any reconciliation at the end, but rather a tearing apart. Instead of judging perpetrators, spreading pity for victims and preaching morality, the play in Markus PLATTNER's production is one single cry for love. The abuse is not a case of homosexuality but the violation of the soul through hatred born of compulsion. The characters are aspects of a single person. The setting is not a confessional but the difficult terrain between head and gut. ……..