Dominique Caillat
Dominique Caillat is a Swiss playwright and writer. She lives in Berlin and works in German, French and English.
Life and work
After studying law and passing bar examinations in Geneva and New York City, Dominique Caillat briefly worked as an international lawyer before turning to literature and the stage, receiving a basic training in acting and directing.In 1993, she moved to Germany and established in Burg Namedy, near Koblenz, the youth acting school "Theater in der Vorburg". Over the next 6 years, she wrote and directed 6 plays for her company, which soon became a regular guest at theatre events and festivals. In 1998, Caillat's play and production of Leb wohl, Schmetterling, about the Terezin ghetto, won the Rheinland-Pfalz Youth Cultural Prize and was performed in the German Parliament for the Commemoration of the Victims of National Socialism, as well as in Terezin, Prague, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, among many other cities. Caillat closed the "Theater in der Vorburg" in 2000, to devote herself to writing fiction, non-fiction and plays.
Her work focuses on sensitive political and social issues, and is typically based on comprehensive research. Her past topics include the Third Reich, to which she devoted two plays, Leb wohl, Schmetterling and Wir gehören zusammen, as well as scenes for Hans Krasá's children opera Brundibár, Prolog, Szene und Epilog, commissioned by the Vienna Chamber opera. She also wrote extensively about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, spending much time in the Middle-East conducting interviews on both sides of the Green Line. Her experiences are summarized in her book La Paix ou la mort – Dans les coulisses du drame isrélo-palestinien. Her latest play, commissioned by the Swiss Academy of Natural Science, deals with Charles Darwin, evolution and bioethics.
Plays
Youth Theatre- Caspar Hauser
- Les Misérables, adapted from Victor Hugo
- Ein Schloss erzählt
- Brunos Traum
- Leb wohl, Schmetterling
- Wir gehören zusammen
- Prolog, Szene und Epilog for Brundibár
- Niemandsland, about youth violence
- Kidnapping, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
- État de piège, thoroughly overhauled version of Kidnapping
- Darwins Beichte
- La Confession de Darwin
- Gladiator Valerius
- Der ewige Soldat
- Die Muse von Stolzenfels
- Der kunstsinnige König
- La Paix ou la mort – Dans les coulisses du drame israélo-palestinien
- Leb wohl, Schmetterling, Documentary Film of Olga Struškova
Awards
- 1998: Children and Youth Cultural Prize of Rheinland-Pfalz for Leb wohl, Schmetterling, play
- 1999: "Forum Artis plaudit" Prize of the Mayen-Koblenz District for Wir gehören zusammen, play
- 2009: Award of the Pro Helvetia Foundation The Children's Passion, Oratorium-Libretto