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Love finds conflict in Schiller masterpiece

By Gan Tian (China Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-13 09:42

Germany's Meininiger Theater is celebrating the 250th birth anniversary of German playwright Friedrich Schiller with his masterpiece Intrigue and Love.

The classic drama played at the Shanghai Oriental Center on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Beijing's PLA Theater yesterday, to a huge turnout. There will be one last show at the Beijing venue this evening.

The five-act drama Intrigue and Love tells of the fight between citizens and feudal nobles. Friedrich Engels commented that it was the first play with political thought in Germany. It went on stage for the first time in 1784 in Frankfurt, and followed up its huge success with shows in Berlin and Mannheim. An English version appeared in 1795 followed, four years later, by a French version. The art director Kerstin Jacobssen has paid more attention to the characters instead of using production tricks. She has tried to coax out the talents of the two leading actors, Dagmar Geppert and Peer Roggendorf. The two are young, and the director has tried to explore the conflict of young people in love.

Jacobssen focuses on bringing out the pair's language and expression. Every word and lyric contains the young lovers' hopes, happiness and sorrow. As to the stage setting: There is only one table, three chairs, and a violin. No fancy decor, or any paintings, just one purple armchair takes audiences directly into a world of aristocrats.

The director used to work as choreographer in Munich Kammerspiele and later learned to act. She has worked as an assistant in many famous German theaters.

The play is based on the original work, but not limited to it. Although Intrigue and Love is a serious work, Jacobssen's drama is entertaining. No wonder that everyone in the drama tries to prove the fact: Love lies not only in one moment, which is stated clearly in Schiller's masterpiece.