Chaplin
City Theatre Brno - Mestske Divadlo Brno (Czech Republic)
Opening: 21.01.2017
Book and Lyrics by: Thomas Meehan, Christopher Curtis
Music by Christopher Curtis
Regie: Stanislav Moša
THE TRAMP CHARLIE CHAPLIN STROLLS ACROSS THE MUSICAL STAGE IN BRNO
(...) You could write a lot about the magnificent stage design by Christoph Weyers: the pictorial design is impressive again (he has already worked here on many performances including “Les Misérables”, “The Pope Joan”, “GHOST”, “King Lear”, “TITANIC” and others). Weyers is a master of the “big canvas”. He portrays every ambience evocatively, which he manages without long (scene) changes. He is able to sketch the milieu of London vaudeville, a film studio, a luxury office in a very inspiring way, with the climax being the almost authentic scene of the famous “red carpet” in Hollywood. (...)
Vítězslav Sladký, www.musical-opereta.cz, 30. 1. 2017
EUROPEAN PREMIERE OF THE MUSICAL “CHAPLIN”
(...) The entire story takes place in a film studio, which is visually clever, varied and imaginatively staged by set designer Christoph Weyers. Chaplin, already at an advanced age, reminisces about his life. The plot of the musical is thus a balance sheet of his artistic life from beginning to end. The play is also a tribute to the legendary tramp and to the era in which the rise of US cinematic art began. The stage design, the projections and actually the entire performance of the musical reveal a love for film. This begins straight away with the first image the audience sees as they enter the auditorium – a curtain of film posters illuminated one by one during the overture. The lighting direction by David Kachlíř and the exquisite costumes by Andrea Kučerová are a perfect complement to Weyers’ original stage design. (...)
Peter Stoličný, www.i-divadlo.cz, 6. 2. 2017
CHAPLIN – FIRST EUROPEAN PERFORMANCE OF A MAGNIFICENT MUSICAL
Film projections and an opulent show
As soon as you enter the theatre building, projections with scenes from Chaplin films catch your eye. The audience also sees the projections throughout the performance. The curtain with Chaplin film posters also fits the atmosphere of the play. The successful stage design by Christoph Weyers is reminiscent of the film studios where Chaplin shot his films. We wander in time and space, transport ourselves to the world of the film industry and back a few decades. Weyers’ performed his work “with distinction” with a fully functional and effective set.
Kateřina Šebelová, www.epochtimes.cz, 1. 2. 2017
CHAPLIN OR A MUSICAL ABOUT THE SLAPSTICK KING
The play is, in the end, a complicated composition cleverly designed on many levels. However, an homage to film and slapstick is omnipresent here, which is also underlined by Christoph Weyers’ stage design and stage projections. A curtain of Chaplin film posters puts the audience right in the middle of the action; everything takes place in a Hollywood studio, an almost authentic copy of the original, which now houses the Chaplin Museum.
Luboš Mareček, www.mestohudby.cz, 22. 1. 2017