Theatre premiere in the Music Recital Hall: 'Unfit to be a Tragic Heroine!'

The following text has been machine translated from the German with no human editing.

The practical theatre course run by the Professional Development Programme in collaboration with the Teaching and Learning Centre (ZeLL) at Saarland University promises a “Saarland case study based on Gerhart Hauptmann’s *Die Ratten*”. Over two semesters, Berlin-based director Mareile Metzner worked with students and guest students to develop a play that can now be seen on stage in the Music Hall.

The play ‘Unfit to be a Tragic Heroine!’ is set in a dilapidated tenement block, where a diverse group of people are fighting for their own little slice of happiness. Against a backdrop of social cuts and massive cutbacks in the cultural sector, the drama centring on a self-sacrificing cleaner with a desperate desire to have children has lost none of its relevance.

Nobel Prize-winning author Gerhart Hauptmann intertwines the world of a formerly successful theatre professional – who tries to maintain a façade of success and keeps his family afloat with a costume hire business in the attic – with the world of the rest of the building’s residents: criminals, drug addicts, students, those with little formal education and low-wage workers – all living in precarious circumstances, under more than just the threat of poverty, social exclusion and psychological and physical violence.

The premiere of ‘Unfit to be a Tragic Heroine!’ will take place on 5 July at 6.00 pm in the Music Hall (Building C5 1). There will be a second chance to see the play on 10 July at 7.00 pm at the same venue. No booking is required, and admission is free on both dates. Donations to cover the costs of costumes and set design are gratefully accepted.

Enquiries: 
Professional Development Coordination Team
stephanie.blum@uni-saarland.de