Prinz von Homburg

We have just come from seeing the production of Kleist's Prinz Friedrich von Homburg at the Deutches Theater in Berlin. It was arguably the worst performance we have ever seen. The actors shouted their lines constantly, which killed much of the play's subtlety. That was bad. But the stage itself was filled with some centimeters of water, which the actors constantly fell in, rolled about in, or just splashed about in with their feet and hands. The theoretical justification for the water is the historical fact that the battle of Fehrbellin took place in a swamp. It is not part of the normal staging and might have had audience roaring with laughter if it were not all done with such painful earnestness. I found it particularly distracting that this slapstick water-play often took place on one side of the stage while other actors screamed at full volume on the other.

One wonders almost whether the director meant the performance to be a satire on the play itself. It is hard to imagine a good theater and a good company doing anything so absurd with serious intent.