ABSTRACT
This chapter considers a post-dramatic production of Sebastian Hartmann’s Hunger. Peer Gynt at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin which premiered in October 2018. The chapter commences with an interrogation of the German word Stimmung. Stimmung in common parlance is essentially a conflation of atmosphere and mood. Its etymological origins as a musical term are utilised in this chapter. Conversations are re-imagined as the actors’ and audience members’ labour of “tuning.” The chapter explores how, at two of the performances, the actors and audience tune to, or are out of tune with: the space, the artwork and each other. Hunger. Peer Gynt can almost be perceived as an experiment exploring Gernot Böhme’s conception of spatial and emotional atmospheres. The audience walk-out and how it affects or its lack of effect on the actor–audience relationship emerges as one of the most controversial yet important conversations of the production. Interviews with five of Deutsches Theater actors in this production shed new light on their onstage, artwork and audience relationships. Audience comments drawn from 21 audience interviews highlight the vital importance of direct relationship with the actors in this production where many felt the actor–audience relationship was compromised. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the actor’s attempts to reach across the border and connect with the audience in this production.
