Caligula

The Roman emperor demands that the moon be taken down from the sky and that her horse be appointed consul. She sentences bad poets to death. Caligula opposes societal norms and breaks all boundaries to demonstrate her endless power. If money means everything to people, then their lives are worthless. And that is logic according to the tyrant, who demands total freedom. All the way to her own death. Is Caligula insane or simply a cynical politician in a position of power?

The Hungarian director Ildikó Gáspár intends to activate your funny bone and your brain cells and to expose the mechanisms of cruelty and the impermanence of humanism. She does it by confronting Albert Camus’ tragicomic play and twisting it a few notches. Caligula is portrayed by Andrea Edwards.

Albert Camus wrote Caligula during the outbreak of the Second World War. It had its world premiere in Paris in September, 1945. The following year it was performed at Göteborgs Stadsteater (Gothenburg City Theatre), directed by Ingmar Bergman, his first directing project here. Gáspár directed Vem är Schmitz? (Who Is Schmitz?) at Göteborgs Stadsteater in 2019.

Ildikó Gáspár, a Hungarian director, has worked at Hungary’s largest theatres through the past 15 years. She has also directed in Germany, Lithuania and Serbia. Among her productions: Joseph and His Brothers by Thomas Mann, Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller, Shakespeare’s Macbeth and The Fatherless by Csaba Mikó.

Photo: AORTA

Premiere

17 Feb 2023

Stage

Stora Scen

Duration

2 H and 45 min incl intermission