Overview

‘Wars do not break out, they are not brokered or declared as is always written. They are brought about by those who desire them.’ In June 1914, Europe was enjoying unprecedented peace and prosperity. Little over a month later, the world was at war – and only a handful of people knew it was happening. Inspired by the medieval mystery plays Sommer 14 – A Dance of Death is an epic telling from a German and European perspective of the world's descent into war. Employing the character of Death as a guide, the play uses the classic Danse Macabre structure of a series of searing vignettes to illuminate the people and the events that led up to the outbreak of the First World War.

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9781783196821

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Reviews

Amid the welter of shows about the First World War, Rolf Hochhuth's play is something of a rarity: an epic mix of history lesson, expressionist drama and Germanic Oh! What a Lovely War...Hochhuth has lost none of his capacity for controversy - offers a fascinating portrait of the inexorable march towards war. * Michael Billington, The Guardian * The events leading up to the Great War are given an epic treatment in this new play...Part theatre, part historical pageant, this translation offers an intriguing perspective on the nature and nurture of war. * Stage * It is a fascinating exposition of little known material that feels like a verbatim drama dosed with surrealism and presented in a Brechtian manner - Piece by piece Hochhuth assembles the disparate evidence of all those acts that those in control exploited in their determination to go to war and reorder Europe to their own advantage, a fascinating unfolding that gives us privileged access to the reality of history. * British Theatre Guide *

Author Information

Born in West Germany in 1931, Rolf Hochhuth's provocative first drama, Der Stellvertreter. Ein christliches Trauerspiel (The Deputy, a Christian tragedy, also known as The Representative), accuses Pope Pius XII and the Roman Catholic clergy of tolerating Nazi crimes against the Jews. It received productions worldwide and caused great controversy, as well as recently being adapted for the film Amen. It was produced at the Finborough Theatre in 2006. His second play, Soldiers, initially banned in England, received its world premiere in Berlin in 1967, and received its first UK revival at the Finborough Theatre in 2004. Later works include Guerrillas, The Midwife, The Survivor and the film A Love in Germany. Gwynne Edwards has prepared a new translation of the play, from a literal translation by Jennifer Bakst. Gwynne Edwards is a specialist in Spanish theatre and cinema and, until recently, Professor of Spanish at the University of Aberystwyth, Wales.

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