In 1896/1897, Arthur Schnitzler wrote the first version of his Reigen, followed by an unauthorized world premiere in Budapest and an authorized one in Berlin in 1920. This led to a theatrical scandal so luridly sensational that Schnitzler himself banned performances of his piece, an interdiction only lifted in 1982.
Yana Ross, Director and Bettina Hering, Director of Drama, photo SF/Ömer Karakus
This year, director Yana Ross is staging a new version in Salzburg, based on Schnitzler’s Reigen. Ten European authors were asked to rewrite one of the original scenes for our present times. The basic idea is to create a polyphony of desire and love – combined with the question: is there a way out of this “round dance”, in which Schnitzler portrayed a society marked by social imbalance and injustice?
Bettina Hering, Director of Drama, asked Yana Ross to describe the current artistic state since the start of rehearsals. “I think it is a snapshot. One week before the premiere, everything is still pretty fragile, everything is exposed and very vulnerable.” Due to the pandemic, the genesis of the work occupied a much longer period than planned, she explained; originally the completion had been scheduled for 2021. In the meantime, many radical changes have occurred. The challenge, she added, was to react to this new reality with new writing. “That is the gift and the great responsibility inherent in this project,” Yana Ross said.
Yana Ross
Yana Ross considers her task to actually create a “round dance” out of these ten scenes: “The challenge remains the same. As a director, I have to find a holistic perspective, combining ten authors describing a certain point here and now.” Over the past two years, she has been in continuous touch with them, trying to identify the subject this play is ultimately about. Some of it concerns “subjects we don’t discuss as a society”, a facet it has in common with Schnitzler’s original version. Taboos existing 100 years ago have shifted, she pointed out. Today’s version by these authors has no dots, which in Schnitzler’s version indicated sexual intercourse. However, the taboos of today include „performance anxiety, the fear of loneliness and of showing one’s true face, the continuous questioning: am I good enough?” (After press materials).
Marijan Zlobec