Play / London, Vienna, Recklinghausen / Premiere in the German-speaking region
Based on Arthur Schnitzler’s Liebelei
Newly adapted by David Harrower
“Sweet Nothings” is a fresh English translation by Scottish playwright David Harrower of Arthur Schnitzler’s first stage success „Liebelei”. Luc Bondy stages the devastating love story of charming womanizer Fritz and young Christine with London’s Young Vic Theatre. More
Scottish playwright David Harrower has translated Arthur Schnitzler’s fin-de-siècle drama Liebelei into contemporary, idiomatic English. Luc Bondy directs the play with a young cast at London’s Young Vic Theatre. Two young upper-class men “collect” love affairs and try to have fun without problems or strings; it is the eve of a big war, a period when people want to put their minds off things, to live for the day and celebrate the moment, which is not always possible. Fritz, the protagonist of the play, collects moments that radiate the perfume of eternity. His friend Theodor arranges for an affair with a sweet-natured suburban girl to help Fritz forget the vicissitudes of his liaison with a married society lady. Already the first scene is imbued with the fear of death, since the lady’s husband has challenged Fritz to a duel. The party the friends so desperately want to enjoy does not get going. The flirtation with sweet Christine almost becomes a serious love story – a development that was hardly intended and now collides with Fritz’s affair with the upper-class woman. The inherent dynamics of this conflict cause a catastrophe that leads to Fritz’s death in the duel, and Christine, who has truly fallen in love, is left all alone. It is only three days after her lover’s death that she learns how he died in a duel – for another woman.
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Leading Team and Cast Direction / Luc Bondy
Design & Light / Karl-Ernst Herrmann
Costumes / Moidele Bickel
Sound / Gareth Fry
Dramaturg / Geoffrey Layton
Associate Costume / Designer Eva Dessecker
Assistant Design / Barbara Pral
Hair and Makeup / Campbell Young
Costume Supervisor / Fizz Jones
Casting / Sam Jones
CHRISTINE / Kate Burdette
KATHARINA / Hayley Carmichael
MIZI / Natalie Dormer
FRITZ / Tom Hughes
THEODORE / Jack Laskey
WEIRING / David Sibley
Gentleman / Andrew Wincott
ProductionPress ReviewsIntendant Luc Bondy zeigt noch vor der offiziellen Eröffnung seine Londoner Schnitzler-Inszenierung – Traumwandlerisch sichere Stimmungsmalerei
[...] Ein Teil der Zuschauer, die in der Halle G des Museumsquartiers in einer U-förmigen, steil ansteigenden Arena um eine von Karl-Ernst Herrmann entworfene, sich langsam drehende Rund-Bühne saßen, mag die berühmten Schnitzler'schen Zwischentöne vermisst haben. Tatsächlich klingt das Tändeln und Säuseln, Lügen und Betrügen in Harrowers englischer Übertragung viel direkter und weniger charmant. Der Totalschaden, den das harte Aufeinanderprallen von Gefühlen und Konventionen anrichtet, wird so jedoch nur deutlicher. Zumal Luc Bondy sich mit dieser Regiearbeit einmal mehr als Meister der Stimmungsmalerei erweist.
[...] Am Ende inszeniert Bondy einen todestraurigen, brutalen Ringelreihen, bei dem Mizi, Theodor und der alte Weiring den Ausbruchsversuch der tief verletzten Christine verhindern. Hiergeblieben! Stillgestanden! Durchgehalten! Die Botschaft, die die Wiener Festwochen, die am Freitag offiziell eröffnet werden, mit ihrem traditionellen kleinen Geschenk den Zuschauern heuer mitgeben, ist übrigens konträr. Wer möchte, darf einen kleinen Flugdrachen mit nach Hause nehmen. Auf der Verpackung steht: "Heben Sie ab!"
APA, 11. Mai 2010
[…] Luc Bondy’s production invests the action with the qualities of dance: it’s sometimes dreamy, sometimes painfully precise. The movement, which involves physical risk, is sublimely achieved, and the relationships quickly seem plausible — tense in all the right places. [...]
Evening Standard, 5. März 2010
[...] And this revival of his 1895 play, Liebelei, in a new version by David Harrower and an exquisite production by Luc Bondy, offers a damning portrait of Viennese decadence without ever reverting to overt moralising. […]
And, if the people are real, so too is Bondy's production which vividly captures the irresponsible hedonism of youth. The first act foursome is a miracle of staging in which the characters seem propelled by drink, lust and their own inner restlessness. […]
The Guardian, 5. März 2010
[…] The dramatist's vision is conveyed now in a brilliant, intensely deliberate and eerily stylish production by the Vienna-based, Swiss-born director Luc Bondy. […]
The Independent, 5. März 2010
[…] Luc Bondy’s handling of the first act is a masterclass in how to breathe life and interest into a scene that takes far too long setting up mood, tone and basic situation. You’d hardly believe the movement and energy that the director generates on a round, raised stage by four young people, all excellently played by tyro actors, who are enjoying a boozy, louche party. […]
The Times, 8. März 2010
[...] Luc Bondy hat mit viel Freude am Detail, mit sicherem Gefühl für Psychologie und Stimmungen an der Nuance inszeniert: Dass es glaubhaft menschelt, wenn sich die beschwipste Spaßgesellschaft in die Arme fällt oder rüde aus dem Bett wirft. [...]
Kurier, 6. März 2010
Links
Location
Halle G im MuseumsQuartier
Dates
10.05.10 20:30Prices
EUR 20,- / 30,- / 48,-Language
In English, overtitled in GermanDuration
2 hrs 20 mins, 1 interval
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