Text and Performance as an Interdisciplinary and Intermedia Rewriting: Hamletmachine (1977) and "Death Suits Ophelia" (2005)

Abstract

German playwright Heiner Muller produced post-dramatic plays using techniques such as pastiche, rewriting, alienation and reimagined history, myths and old texts within the context of postdramatic theatre. One of his most exemplary plays that uses these characteristics is Hamletmachine (Die Hamletmaschine, 1977). It is a distinctive rewriting of Hamlet with its interdisciplinary and intermedia characteristics. Hamletmachine as a rewriting, with the writing style of Muller in 1970s, puts forward the changes in and the important techniques of the twentieth century texts and performances. On the other hand, "Death Suits Ophelia," directed by Ozan Gozel and Tulug Ulgen, focuses on Muller's interpretations, and their performance piece creates a new text and gives way to new interpretations with its novel staging. The aim of this article is to argue that drama is an interdisciplinary and intermedia art by nature, and the performance can also be considered as a transition between different disciplines and also as another rewriting. For this aim, this article will discuss the interdisciplinary and intermedia characteristics of these plays by focusing on Muller's Hamletmachine investigating the text's relation to its predecessor, its use of technique and multi-interpretations and by also touching upon the different interpretations of the performance piece "Death Suits Ophelia".