The Magic Mountain // German State Theatre Timișoara (Romania)

German State Theatre Timișoara (Romania)

Text by: Thomas Mann
Stage adaptation and direction: Clemens Bechtel

Cast: Harald Weisz, Marc Illich, Ioana Iacob, Rareș Hontzu, Bülent Özdil, Alexandru Mihăescu, Aida Olaru, Tatiana Sessler-Toami, Dana Borteanu, Isolde Cobeț, Richard Hladik

Age restriction: 13+

After completing his studies in Hamburg, the aspiring engineer Hans Castorp visits his cousin Joachim Ziemßen, who is suffering from tuberculosis, at the Berghof Sanatorium in Davos. Castorp only intends to stay for a few weeks. But he becomes increasingly captivated by the people and the peculiar life at the sanatorium: he undergoes rest cures, obsessively measures his temperature—like the other patients—and has himself X-rayed. The visitor becomes a patient. With some of the sanatorium's residents—like the writer Settembrini—Castorp engages in lively and heated discussions; with others—like the eccentric Clavdia Chauchat—he observes with fascination, not daring to speak to them. What does she remind him of? Time passes. Or does it stand still? While his cousin Joachim dreams of finally being discharged and becoming a soldier, Hans Castorp increasingly loses touch with reality "down in the valley." There, the First World War threatens to break out, but who cares about that up here in the sanatorium? Director Clemens Bechtel and his team are taking on the challenge of developing an exciting evening of theatre from Thomas Mann's 1000-page classic novel.

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