François Villon at Kaue: Great Poetry between Crime and Desire
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François Villon: Between Crime, Desire, and Great Poetry
A poet from the shadows of history steps into the spotlight: On October 17, 2026, the Kaue Gelsenkirchen transforms into a literary-musical resonance space for François Villon. The program combines acting, music, and poetry into an intense stage experience about a man whose life oscillated between scholarship, vagrancy, criminality, and poetic truth.
A medieval poet with modern impact
François Villon is one of the most fascinating figures in European literary history. Scholar and outsider, celebrated poet and convicted criminal: His biography remains surrounded by legends, and the circumstances of his disappearance are unclear. It is precisely this mixture of historical distance and existential closeness that makes his verses compelling to this day. They tell of longing, impermanence, wit, desire, and the depths of human existence.
Markus Kiefer gives Villon a voice
Markus Kiefer navigates this contradictory cosmos as a performer. His acting does not merely portray a historical figure, but reveals the inner tension of Villon's texts: between harsh reality and poetic beauty, between mockery and melancholy, between the hunger for life and the proximity of death. The staging focuses on language as a physical force and a stage presence that makes Villon's literary world immediately palpable.
Music as an equal dialogic partner
The evening is accompanied by the chamber music ensemble Herzblut. The music does not remain merely an accompaniment but enters into a dramatic dialogue with the recitation. Historical echoes merge with a modern sound language; acoustics, rhythm, and melody intensify the atmosphere. Thus, an evening of theater emerges, in which sound and text comment on, contradict, and emotionally deepen each other.
The Strawberry Mouth and its literary history
The title I am so wild for your strawberry mouth refers to a famous paraphrase by Paul Zech. The poem does not originate directly from François Villon but is part of Zech's free literary engagement with the medieval poet. The text became particularly known through Klaus Kinski's recitations. The performance makes this reception history visible and demonstrates how Villon's poetic figure has been continually re-read, altered, and brought to the stage over the centuries.
A theater evening between the Middle Ages and the present
The dramaturgy bridges historical literature and contemporary stage art. Villon's verses do not appear as museum material, but as living language about loneliness, desire, social exclusion, and the search for freedom. Set design, lighting mood, and musical precision create an atmospheric space in which the audience can feel the rough breath of medieval alleys as well as the timeless power of great poetry.
Conclusion: François Villon – Murderer – Thief – Poet promises a focused stage experience for all who wish to experience acting, literature, and chamber music in an unusual combination. Markus Kiefer and the chamber music ensemble Herzblut lead through an evening full of linguistic intensity, musical refinement, and historical depth. Those who wish not only to read Villon but to hear him live and experience him in his contradictory world will find an impressive access in the Kaue Gelsenkirchen.
Official channels of Markus Kiefer and the chamber music ensemble Herzblut:
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- Website: https://www.markus-kiefer.net
