Schaubuhne Berlin - An Enemy of the People

Date: Sept 6-8 - 7:30 pm

Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts

Dr Stockmann discovers that the source of drinking and spa water is riddled with pathogenic microorganisms, caused by industrial effluence. Stockmann wants to publish the findings in the newspaper and demands that the city council reroute the water pipes. However, his brother Peter, the councilor of the city, raises some serious concerns: the economic prosperity of the spa town will be threatened. Suddenly the support for Stockmann from the town's policymakers begins to wane. They spread seeds of doubt about his plans and try to cover up the fact of the contaminated water. But Stockmann insists on transparency. In an all-important speech, he hopes to win the town over to his way of thinking. For him, the affair has long since ceased to be about the polluted health spa, his target is society as a whole. Ibsen's drama wavers on a fine line between honesty and fanaticism. What is the potential for transparency in a commercialized society?