WIR SIND THEATER DU / WE ARE THEATER DU
--German Theatre in Toronto--
Welcome to the cuckoo’s nest – welcome to our world! Back then, the Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt was our chosen playwright, and his drama The Physicists, set in a nuthouse representative of the (postwar) world, provided the backdrop to a fiercely comical production that turned students into crazed scientists, spies and
strangled nurses. After a decade without German theatre, Toronto once again had a theatre group whose performances brought together the dispersed community of German speakers, natives, students and other aficionados. We are now in the process of preparing our second production, a
play written specifically for our ensemble. Drakul(j)a is Erol Boran’s own adaptation of Bram Stoker’s famed novel with allusions to Bela Lugosi and the German vampire film tradition. Once again the setting is a lunatic asylum where the border between doctors and patients is blurred. When dreams contort our sense of reality, vampires and humans merge into a mélange that at once confirms our worst fears and calls to question preconceived notions of monstrosity. Let us seduce you into an eve of exquisite horror and illusive laughter at George Ignatieff Theatre (15 Devonshire Place) on March 29 & 30 at 7:30pm and on March 31 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Umm, that might explain some things.”
Schreck: “Gothic stories, nothing but fairy tales for children!”
Grimm: “Do you have a better explanation for what is going on here?”
Schreck: “You shouldn’t drink so much!”
Stalker: “You carry a proud name, Count.”
Drakula: “The blood of mighty princes flows in my veins.”
Stalker: “But that was centuries ago. Times change.”
Drakula: “Time doesn’t matter to me.”
Murnau: “What are your plans here?”
Stalker: “Might you be looking for a bride?”
Drakula: “You never know. I’ve heard a lot about German women. And I’ve already
had a taste of them… But most of all I’m here to reclaim my youth.”
Theater Du is a Toronto-based theatre group affiliated with the German Department at the University of Toronto and devoted to staging plays in the German language.
