Franz & Marie

A haunting musical inspired by Georg Büchner's Woyzeck.

Franz & Marie is a musical that reworks Georg Büchner's German tragedy Woyzeck, relocated to the folklore of late nineteenth-century Europe. The score is described as indie raw folk. The project was first commissioned about twenty years ago by the Korean company Acom and was devised by members of The Singing Loins, an underground cult band from Kent.

The story begins with a platoon of young soldiers stationed at an isolated outpost after action on the front line. Franz Woyzeck, haunted by nightmares since his return, lives for Marie and their baby, Georgie. Leave was forbidden during the war, so the couple have been unable to marry. The piece addresses class prejudice and toxic masculinity, with sharp dark humour. In this adaptation, the new creative process has expanded Marie's role, placing her beside Franz in the spotlight and in the title.

Marie, one of the two credited artists, is a Japanese actress and singer whose debut album, カヲス, was released in 2016. The production is staged at the Charing Cross Theatre, which occupies The Arches on Villiers Street in London.