credit: OÖ Theater und Orchester GmbH
For the adaption of the critically acclaimed musical Lazarus, best known for being David Bowie’s last completed work, the Landestheater Linz was dedicated to make heavy use of media art in order to stage the material in exceptional and contemporary appearance. The piece by Enda Walsh, which was premiered in New York end of 2015 tells an unsettling story of the protagonist’s despair, alienation, and ultimate redemption, in presentation exceptional for musicals. In the field of musicals, the piece is rather unconventional; the scenes are intertwined, timelines are non-linear, illusion blends with reality. Accordingly, the atmosphere is well supported by both stage design and media art with gloomy, reduced, and simplistic design. Johannes von Matuschka’s adaption was premiered in September 2018 in a sold-out Großer Saal of the Musiktheater and performed another 17 times throughout the season of 2018/19. The adaption is hailed for its innovation within the fields of musical, with its distinctive use of space and stage, combining the continuously transforming and converting stage setting with omni-present projected media augmentations, which were both pre-produced and interactive.
Context: Musical production "Lazarus" for Music Theater Linz
Contribution: project management, design and programming of interactive realtime graphics
Credits: Landestheater Linz, Johannes von Matuschka, Christoph Rufer, Ars Electronica Futurelab
credit: OÖ Theater und Orchester GmbH
