The king is dead. Artificial fog rises from Henry V's open grave.

The mourners throw in earth, candle-yellow light from the ramp gives their faces the relief of masks.

They declaim memorial speeches to plaintive fantasy cello music - then the bass threnody breaks off and turns into screeching: Gloucester and Winchester get at each other's hair.

No sooner have the kingdom's other grandees silenced the two – the stage lights here conjure up the stained-glass windows of a cathedral – when messengers rush onto the stage and report loss after loss of territory in English-held France.

Thus begins Thomas Jolly's production of Shakespeare's rarely performed Henry VI trilogy.

Its barely abridged performance helped the now forty-year-old 2014 breakthrough at the Festival d'Avignon.

A scenic act of strength and violence, just like the visitors of the world's largest theater festival love: The eighteen-hour marathon began at ten in the morning and ended – to frenetic applause – at four in the morning the following day.

Critics praised the freshness and panache of the production;

Jolly has since had a following among young theatergoers.

Preference for the marginalized

In 2018, the high-flyer was given the honor of opening the Festival d'Avignon in its sanctum, the main courtyard of the Papal Palace.

The choice of Seneca's five-act Thyestes for the occasion testifies to Jolly's remarkable penchant for the marginalized.

"Richard III", with which he completed the three parts of "Henry VI" to form the so-called York tetralogy in 2015, is still the only repertoire piece in his catalogue.

This otherwise only contains rarities: Marivaux' even in France hardly ever given one-act play "Arlequin poli par l'amour", Jewgeni Schwarz' fairytale play "The Dragon", Georg Kaiser's late "Floss der Medusa", plus works by Copi, Sacha Guitry and Mark Ravenhill.

And in the opera field, too, Jolly has so far only staged marginal things:

Platinum Blonde Wigs

Jolly's directing style could be described with terms like "aplomb", "energy", "theatricality" and "excess".

His conduct of the characters oscillates between ramp recitation and theatrical gymnastics, but always remains conventional.

Props are used as in a fairground theatre, lighting effects and (often original) incidental music create a cinematic impression.

"Henry VI" allows these general findings to be exemplified.

Without a microport, the actors here like to salivate, trying to outdo each other in decibels.

The French protagonists ride along on straw chairs, Joan of Arc and the Dauphin duel with gymnastic bands, Winchester takes a platinum blond wig for a walk, which he uses as a substitute for a poodle.