Sketches from Moby Dick

It is a spectacle of power and grace, pure beauty and danger. The oldest creature in the world, created by God on the fourth day right after the sun, the moon and the stars—it is about to plunge back in all its enormity and disappear before our eyes into the unfathomable depths of the deep sea.

A grandfather wants to tell his grandson a story that he already told a thousand times. The child is overexcited, maybe a bit nasty.

A young man tells us that he sometimes feels drawn to the water. He describes this urge as human nature. He wants to start a journey eagerly.

A stranger enters a bar looking for a job on a ship. The other guests are a sworn-in crew, where everybody knows his role. They playfully mess with him. They are drunk because they fear what is ahead. They sing and drink their fear away.

To his own surprise, Ishmael is fascinated by the stranger he has to share a bed with. He feels attracted to him.

Father Mapple setting a pathetic tone for adventures to come. A bit too much.

One by one we get to know the crew. Who is on board?

A lonely child, he stands apart from the camaraderie shared by others.

The whole crew in the dark. Like children at a sleepover they tell each other scary stories about Ahab and the whale as such.

An evil and disturbing pep talk by Ahab. Nevertheless everyone in the crew is on fire and willing to follow him into battle. His obsession and his magnetism is seen for the first time.

Hunting, action, energy. For the first time they all hunt together and kill a random whale. Their energy they take from the scene before. Now every sailor REALLY IS a butcher.

Starbuck tries to stop Ahab from his mission but has to realize that he is a madman. Like a mental chess-game between the two men. A fierce duet.

A meditation by Kilian and Christopher about the color white. Like a campfire-tale to set a spooky mood.

A deadly storm that could kill them all. In the midst of deadly danger Ahab “catches” the lightning using a harpoon as a lightning rod. The crew in horror because he appears to be an ancient god, an evil Titan.

Calm scene. Starbuck and the sleeping Ahab. Starbuck is thinking about killing Ahab to prevent the crew from further danger. But then Ahab awakes and Starbuck flees.

Pip goes overboard, is left alone at sea for hours and loses his mind. (Christopher sings Pinky Swear).

Starbuck’s last try to convince Ahab to abort the mission. He tries to paint him a picture of a home, sweet home with wife and lovely children. Just when he thinks Ahab is hooked, the captain drifts off into darkness again.

The disturbed man and a disturbed child meet and bond over their broken brains. A very tender scene. Two outsiders, two lonely souls.

A foreshadowing of evils to come. A foreshadowing of death. A dark spirited scene. A child having a nightmare.

They meet Moby Dick for the first time. He kills Ahab, then the crew and sinks all boats and ships. Only Ishmael survives.

Boy and Ishmael are back at the house where the story began.

Dramaturgy Notes by Robert Koall