About the work
“Bad Kingdom” is a play by the writer and director Falk Richter, who staged its world premiere himself at the Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin on 11 February 2024. Richter described it as a dark comedy about the present day of a society worn out by the pandemic and successive crises. The evening moves between a film set, therapy sessions and apocalyptic social scenarios, with the ensemble constantly switching roles and perspectives.
Plot
At its centre is a couple of artists in crisis, a film director and a musician, who can barely reach each other emotionally any more. A couples therapist tries to mediate, while a film titled “71 Fragments of Loneliness” is being made in parallel, mirroring the action on stage. Private longings for closeness, love and security collide with an outside world in which political unrest, isolation and the rise of right-wing movements seep into private life. In the end the therapist steps out of her role and delivers a monologue on society’s collective loss of reality.
Cultural significance
The play continues Richter’s series of political plays about the present at the Schaubühne, combining relationship drama with a diagnosis of society. Critical response was mixed: the ensemble and the music were praised, while the running time of around two and a half hours and a didactic closing monologue were criticised.