Peer Gynt

A project by John Bock and Lars Eidinger

In cooperation with Schaubühne Berlin

“Peer, you’re lying!” is the first sentence in Ibsen’s 1867 dramatic poem “Peer Gynt” and a key to its understanding. It focuses on a Norwegian farm boy with humble beginnings who mastered the art of spinning a yarn. In his fantasies, Gynt not only creates fascinating fairy-tale worlds but also his own self; he continuously reinvents his life story. He abandons his Norwegian homeland and his one true love to embark on a fantastical life’s journey through countries and continents. Yet Peer Gynt, who constantly searches for his true self, is destined to remain dissatisfied in this regard: the curious soul is impossible to pin down, he is gambler, storyteller, lover, mindless consumer, adventurer, all in one.

Conceptual artist John Bock offers a fresh take on this Norwegian everyman. Together with his collaborator Lars Eidinger, he mixes theatre, fine art and performance to create a distinctly unique “Peer Gynt.” Ibsen’s text serves as mere a starting point for the exploration of modern identity between the stage and the internet, character and actor, filter bubble and reality.

In cooperation with Schaubühne Berlin, Ruhrfestspielen, Théâtrede Liège.
In cooperation with the European Theatre Network PROSPERO.