Natasha Tripney on Saint Joan of the Stockyards, Cafè Europa, November 13 2024

Songs of the Stockyards: When Laibach met Brecht
Natasha Tripney, Cafè Europa, November 13th 2024
“[…] There is something inherently theatrical in Laibach’s performances and they have been involved in theatre projects since the 1980s when they composed music for a production of Heiner Müller’s Quartet for the Slovenian National Theatre in Ljubljana. When they later met Müller in Berlin, he suggested that they collaborate, though this collaboration did not take place until after Müller’s death when they produced Wir sind das Volk (We are the people), subtitled ‘Ein Musical aus Deutschland’ based on Heiner Müller’s writings. Given all this, Laibach is kind of a perfect fit for Brecht, which Sacco, whose background is in music, and Tomšič clearly felt as well.
[…]
The show is incredibly visually striking. Everything is black, white and red. Video plays a big role in their production, with imagery of dangling animal carcasses, conveyor belts of plucked chickens and a meat grinder spewing out of crimson mince filling the screen. The costumes by Arianna Fantin add to the visual richness, with Joan initially decked out in a slinky Laibach-adjacent uniform while Mauler swishes around in flamboyant red pyjamas and matching robe. There’s a lot of plot to keep track of and a mixture of four languages in use – Italian, Slovenian, German and English – plus a barrage of onscreen text. The play contains a lot of talk about shares and strikes, tariffs and markets. Exposition arrives via newsflash, a massive news ticker and projections of headlines, while Mauler converses with his fellow bigwigs via video. […]”