Arts Centre Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium

‘The Man Without Qualities’ by Robert Musil is a classic of world literature. Adapting the tome for the stage is quite a feat, but Guy Cassiers has an impressive track record when it comes to literary adaptations. Not only did he adapt Malcolm Lowry’s ‘Under The Volcano’ and Jeroen Brouwers’s ‘Sunken Red’ for the stage, his four-part Proust cycle was the undisputed pinnacle of his career. Cassiers’s new Musil trilogy promises to be just as impressive. In 2010 he will present part I. Parts II and III will premiere in the 2011-2012 season.

Apart from presenting a satirical image of Austrian society in the early 20th century, the novel is also a biography of the modern man. Against a political background, Musil tells the story of Ülrich, the man without qualities. We follow the 32-year-old mathematician as he desperately tries to give meaning to his life. He is surrounded by an array of colourful characters: a convicted killer, a nymphomaniac, a dutiful army general, and so on.

Musils book was crowned ‘Novel of the 20th Century’ at the turn of the 21st century. Cassiers has selected young talented actors Tom Dewispelaere (of Olympique Dramatique and Van Vlees en Bloed) and Liesa Van der Aa to star alongside experienced actors such as Katelijne Damen (De Smaak van De Keyser), Gilda De Bal, Vic De Wachter and Marc Van Eeghem.