Marc Limpach first received attention in Europe for his acting in the successful series “Bad Banks” aired on ZDF/arte. In the series, he plays the Luxembourg banker Luc Jacoby. Limpach, who is also a lawyer, got his start in the theatre world. He has been curating the program of the renowned Kassemattentheater in Luxembourg since 2007.
Why did you become an actor?
I don’t really know “what” I ended up becoming, but I do know that I love acting. I love getting into character, exploring texts and situations, and being creative with other colleagues. I think theatre and cinema give us a chance to develop empathy for characters in special circumstances, as well as to construct and portray different perspectives, and negotiate social conflicts on the stage. Theatre can’t change the world obviously.
But the point is to change, at the very least, people’s view of this world – to explore possibilities for human activity and to better understand it. In general, art should stimulate reflection and a shift of perspective or point of view. Reality is often full of confusion, disorder, imprudence.
Ideally, theatre and cinema offer a critical and aesthetic reflection on the growing complexity of the world. Theatre is meant to be entertaining but it cannot become mere entertainment that conforms to the standards of the market. Above all, theatre and cinema have to tell stories and to ask questions via these stories. For instance, questions about what is necessary and what is superfluous in our society. You can speak about things that our society prefers to remain silent about.
In the theatre, you can at least learn that the “truth” constantly changes depending on your perspective. But the perceived truth is always the result of struggles for basic values that need to be fought for. Conflicts can be seen as the basis for a dramatic and dramaturgical structure. As a field of conflict and discourse.
Do you prefer to act on the stage or in front of the camera?
I like both. In either case it’s really important when working as an actor that the director give the actor space for creative freedom.
Are wireless microphones important for your work or the work of your colleagues?
Craft and teamwork are essential to both theatre and cinema, in every area of responsibility. Everyone has their job to do. And the respective tasks of the specific trades for the stage or on set are all important and interconnected – if things are going to run smoothly. I may have only rarely worked with wireless microphones, but the sound team needs to be able to freely select its technical means. And in general, there needs to be certainty that these means will function perfectly so that the viewer/listener can really be reached.
What would you like to see politics doing for the theatres in Europe?
As a form of expression, theatre has accompanied our culture for a very long time, and it will survive. But, of course, going to the theatre or the cinema has become an “acquired taste”. Theatre and cinema need to become accessible to young people in particular. Theatre and cinema need to be experienced and tangible so that attending these places can become a given, a conceivable and gratifying pleasure, for adult citizens.
The interview was conducted by Jochen Zenthöfer from the “SOS – Save Our Spectrum” initiative on 8 March 2020.
Photo: Jens Koch
