Franz Müller's Wire Spring
Director, set design, costumes, translation: Roi Alter
Performers: Styrmir Örn Guðmundsson, Anat Spiegel, Daniel Rovai
Sound and Light: Thomas Myrmel
15 May 2015, Splendor Amsterdam, Premiere
1 & 2 April 2016, Productiehuis Rotterdam & WORM Rotterdam
Story
Franz Müllers Drahtfrüling is a short Dada story composed by Kurt Schwitters around 1920, telling the story of a man (Franz Müller) who had caused the outbreak of The Great Glorious Revolution “simply by standing there”. In fact it is not the story of the man himself, but rather of the events occurring around him as a result of him standing there without bothering to explain to anyone his reasons for doing so. Those events and the turmoil which follows, lead to the outbreak of the Great Glorious Revolution in the Free city of Revon (-an anagram of Hanover, where Schwitters lived and worked). Franz Müller Wire Spring is the performance on base of the story.
*From the text: >>The child played. And saw a man standing. - “Ma'" said the child. The mother: - "yes" - "Ma'" - "yes" - "ma'" - "yes" - "ma', there stands a man!” - "yes" - “ma', there stands a man!” - “yes” - “ma', there stands a man!” - “where?” - “ma', there stands a man!" - "where?" - "ma', there stands a man!" - "where stands a man?" - "ma', there stands a man!" - "where stands a man?" - “ma', there stands a man!" - well, enough already - “ma', there stands a man!” - “let him stand” - “ma', there stands a man!” - the mother comes. Fact there stands a man. Strange, why should he want to be standing there?