First up, I don’t speak German. I didn’t understand a word of this play, beyond the occasional “nein” and “geshuntite”. This review is mostly for non-German speakers. If you speak German it’s probably a very different experience, though seeing an entire two-hour play – particularly one as dialogue heavy as this one – in a language you don’t speak allows for a pretty different experience of theatre.
The Germanic Players is a fairly active (particularly considering the size of their niche) theatre group on campus, consisting mainly of German students and teachers, who generally put on one or two plays a year. Die Hosen (the knickers) is the story of Luise Maske, a small town housewife whose knickers fall down in the middle of the town square, much to the consternation of her abusive husband, Theobald. The play was written in 1911, when knickers and their falling down was more of a shocking, not to mention titillating, event, and the incident attracts the affections of two very different and competing men – Frank Scarron and Benjamin Mandelstam. They arrange to rent a room each of the two Luise and her husband have advertised. Awkward situations and love polygons result, mild hilarity ensues.
I only know all of this because of the detailed synopsis provided in the program. I would recommend reading it before going in if you don’t speak the language, as this is not a play that tells its story with movement. It’s very dialogue-heavy – when the lights are up, someone’s talking – and if you don’t speak German the play becomes a bunch of people pacing the stage, making noises at each other that you don’t understand.
That said, some of the character acting, particularly Felix Johnston’s Mandelstam and Josh Mendelsohn’s Scarron, were pretty entertaining. Although their exaggerated caricatures could potentially become tiring for those who understand the dialogue, they’re great to watch for those who don’t. Their comic timing is often spot on and they add a good splash of colour to an otherwise fairly static play.
There are other elements don’t fair as well, however. Hauke Worpel’s was a bit too gentle in his portrayal of Theobald, and wasn’t able to convey the aggression and quick temper of his character well enough. He seemed a little awkward onstage, dressed in ill-fitting clothing, not quite sure what to do with his hands. Meanwhile, there were several other little production glitches that made the show a bit clumsy. The set consisted of two rooms in Luis and Theobald’s house – the kitchen and the living room – connected by a doorframe. However, the actors kept walking from one room to the other through where the wall would have been, instead of walking through the doorframe. This is just a small example, but it’s indicative of the rest of the play, which could have done with a touch more polish.
Mainly though, there wasn’t really enough done with this play. The production was very straight-down-the-line – period dress, few really effective visual elements, not a lot, if any, insightful interpretation of the themes. This is probably quite a good play for German speakers or students of German, and there are a number of chuckle-worthy moments, but there’s not a lot here for non-speakers beyond a different perspective of theatre. Go for the experience though – it’s an adventure.
Review by Zoe Barron
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Posted Thursday 14 May, 2009. Updated Thursday 14 May, 2009.
