Wit, greed, and the sophisticated exploitation of human weaknesses: with Volpone, or The Fox, the Volkstheater Rostock brings one of the sharpest social comedies of the Renaissance to the stage—a play full of deception, cunning entanglements, and pointed observations about power, desire, and betrayal.
In Ben Jonson's satirical comedy, set in early 17th-century London, the wealthy Volpone pursues a single goal with coquettish calculation: to increase his own wealth. Under false pretences, he feigns illness and infirmity in order to receive lavish gifts from generous heirs. What begins as a sophisticated game of deception soon takes on grotesque proportions: intrigues, disguises and verbal cunning outdo each other until the masks fall and the comedy reveals its sharp moral.
The production at the Volkstheater Rostock uses this classic material to reveal timeless human attitudes: greed, arrogance, but also the naivety of those who succumb to tempting promises. The combination of comedic precision, linguistic finesse, and theatrical enthusiasm creates an evening that both entertains and provokes thought. Volpone, or The Fox, is a mirror of human vanities that exposes its characters not only to the spotlight, but also to the questioner of their own motives – a comedy that repeatedly reveals new facets of humanity in the interplay between cunning and insight.
Premiere February 7,
Further performances: February 28, March 8, 20, 22, and 28, April 25, 2026
