Die gelbe Tapete

Based on the story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“When a highly respected doctor—and one’s own husband, no less—assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing wrong with you except a temporary nervous depression—a slight tendency toward hysteria—what is one to do?”

(from “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

A dark psychological thriller

1892 in the U.S.: A young woman suffers from postpartum depression after the birth of her child. Her overprotective husband is a doctor and, after consulting with colleagues, subjects her to a special “treatment”: a stay in the countryside, complete rest, a ban on any intellectual activity, and large quantities of food. The woman can confide her thoughts only to her secretly kept diary. Locked away and cared for by a nurse, she stares for hours every day at the yellow wallpaper in her hospital room. And the longer her gaze becomes entangled in its strange patterns, the more she feels as though she herself is being watched. Her fantasies grow ever more urgent; and her conviction grows ever stronger that something alive dwells behind the wallpaper—a creature that wants to make contact with her!

With her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” published in 1892, Charlotte Perkins Gilman—following in the footsteps of Edgar Allan Poe—created a gripping, atmospherically dense, and multi-layered horror story. 

A Key Work of Feminist Literature

The writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860–1935) was one of the leading intellectuals of the American women’s movement.

Drawing on autobiographical motifs, she created a groundbreaking story that has become one of the most widely read and interpreted texts in schools and universities throughout the English-speaking world.

Starring:Olga Tomkowiak, Korinna Krauss, Leon Sandner

Adaptation & Direction:Georg Büttel
Music (recordings & rehearsal direction):Thomas Unruh
Set design:Thomas Bruner
Artistic Collaboration & Video Sequences:Katharina Raab
Costumes:Michele Lorenzini
Lighting & Technical Support:Philipp Kolb
Assistant Director:Judith Alkofer
Makeup Consultant:Barbara Gellermann
Graphic Design:Veronika Gerber
A production byDraxl et al. GbR “Die gelbe Tapete”