Das Kunstseidene Madchen, and: Stella, and: Trauer Muss Elektra Tragen (review)

Abstract

Since the demise of East Germany in 1990 stripped state theatres of their privilege as subsidized institutions of critique in a repressive society, they have had to find new roles in the crowded scene in Berlin, capital of unified Germany. While the Volksbühne has earned attention through director Frank Castorf's outrageous deconstructions of classic texts (reviewed in Theatre Journal as part of the Theatertreffen), the Berliner Ensemble, Brecht's former home, on the other hand, has lost momentum under Claus Peymann, formerly innovative director in Bochum and Vienna. The Deutsches Theater, once led by pioneering directors Otto Brahm and Max Reinhardt, distinguished itself in the 1980s with the critical and often campy productions of Alexander Lang (such as Trilogie der Leidenschaft in 1986) but lapsed after unification into a polished, unadventurous routine. As the first two seasons under the artistic management of Bernd Wilms suggest, the theatre has largely, if not completely, recovered its role as producer of pointed but historically grounded stagings of German and other classics, while also developing the work of recent authors.