DIVADELNÍ FLORA

May 25th Sat, 7:30 PM – 8:45 PM | S-klub

R. Bersch – U. Demling – N. Mitra – M. Riedel – J. Zezula DONALD TRUMP: THE ART OF THE DEAL

“That’s my second favorite book. You know what my first is? – The Bible!” (Donald Trump)

Stage commentary on the bestselling book designed for everyone who wants to “make money and achieve success”. Reflections on the postulates and visions of the most powerful world leader (portrayed by Aurel Manthei, a leading figure of the Residenztheater, Munich) through the optics of the world dramatic oeuvre as well as pop-culture. World premiere directed by Manfred Riedel.
The production in German and English with Czech surtitles will be followed by a DISCUSSION.

Ticket price: 150-250

directed by Manfred Riedel
dramaturgy Roland Bersch, Ursula Demling
music Niel Mitra
video Jaromir Zezula

characters and cast
Donald Trump Aurel Manthei
Melania Trump Eva-Maria Kapser

world premiere 25 May 2019

“That’s my second favorite book. You know what my first is? – The Bible!” said Donald Trump about his first book The Art of the Deal (1987). Although more of a mix of notes and memories of his business deals in the 1980s, than a collection of advice on how to manage a successful business, it still evokes an odd feeling of relevancy.

The collective of Munich-based creators follow the thought processes of the 45^th president of the United States, whose political success has rocked the world. This original theatre adaptation cleverly intertwines parts of Trump’s book with references to other literary works and pop culture; Rimbaud’s poems, Traudl Junge’s memories of the last days with Hitler, or even collections of tweets and mumble rap, with all of them finding their place on the stage. This unsettling performance is a short break in the never ending war between the truth and fake news, art and trash. The controversial statesman will be portrayed by the star of Residenztheater – Aurel Manthei.

After completing his studies of theatre science, history and political science, Manfred Riedel (1977) worked as the assistant director at Residenztheater Munich. He assisted many significant directors, such as Dieter Dorn, Johan Simons, Thomas Langhoff, Anne Lenk, or Jens-Daniel Herzog. He received the Bayerisches Schauspiel scholarship for his staging of The Man Who Ate the World, based on the work of Nis-Momme Stockmann, presented at the 29th festival Theatertage in Bamberg. Manfred Riedel works as a freelancer since the 2011/2012 season and teaches at Otto Falckenberg School of the Performing Arts in Munich. His newest work is the collective staging of Donald Trump: The Art of the Deal, which was created by a group of artists connected with the Residenztheater, Munich or rather the DomagkAteliers art colony. Apart from Riedel, this group is comprised of Jaromir Zezula (art historian, musician and cultural manager), Niel Mitra (musician and producer), Roland Bersch (dramaturge and director) and Ursula Demling (dramaturge and light designer). The group has a vision of theatre as an uncontrollable machine for processing themes that are distant from theatre. In their cooperative debut, they use their skills from theatrical experience, literary sciences and work with audio-visual media to look at the 21st century phenomena of an information flood that is also responsible for the current US president.

Aurel Manthei (1974) studied acting at the Folkwang University of Arts in Essen. He worked at the Schauspiel Leipzig theatre in 2002–2008 under the direction of Karin Henkel and Armin Petras, among others. He also taught at the University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig. His work has been focused over the long term on films and television production (he played assistant commissioner Stolberg in the ZDF television show), before he decided to delve into theatre full time and left for the Schauspielhaus Zürich theatre. He began his intensive cooperation with Frank Castorf in Zürich, which continues at the Residenztheater, where Manthei currently works. Over the last few years, Manthei has played the main characters in the legendary Castorf productions of Baal, The Good Soldier Švejk, and Don Juan. Manthei portrayed the protagonist of Der Mieter (The Tenant) by the debut director Blanka Rádóczy, which was shown at the Radikal jung festival this spring.

photo: Jaromir Zezula