Werther (Love & Death)

Would you die for love?

Love hurts. Love for a person can be so overwhelming that the lover is prepared to die rather than live on after an unrequited love. The epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang Goethe from 1774 tells the tragic story of a young man named Werther and his love for Lotte.

And no more shall we part. On stage: four actors and five adolescent girls. Two worlds that initially appear to be completely separate. In one world, great feelings, farewells, loss, unconditional love and a longing for death are lived out. In the other, life pulsates and dances, imperfection and intoxication are celebrated. A mutual fascination soon develops. For are these worlds really so different, or don't (we) all feel the need to be seen, loved and saved by another person?

Wonderful days. In a visually powerful collage of Goethe's lines, song lyrics, self-written material, music and play, the performance explores what could be called the Werther feeling: To love or not to love? To love too much, to be loved, to accept love? Agonizing questions that Werther formulates in his letters, which find expression in songs for which the performance creates moments on stage. Lies Pauwels' production is an evening full of love, longing, pain and intoxication - 1774 / 2024.

Emotions. After The Hamilton Complex and Baroque, this is the Belgian director's third production at Schauspielhaus Bochum.