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Amazing Influence
It might seem strange that a short German play written in the early 1800’s by a playwright who died at twenty three after writing only three short plays could have so strongly affected and influenced the modern theatre world. How could a disjointed incomplete play inspire numerous scholars to study, analyze, translate and publish volumes of research? How could this work that was not even published until 1879 and not produced until 1913 have become one of the most performed and influential plays in the German theatre repertory? To date, Woyzeck has been translated and adapted for the stage numerous times, turned into an early twentieth century opera (1922) by Alban Berg, been seen in three movie versions (1979, 1994, and 2009), turned into a musical by Robert Wilson and Tom Waites and even presented in a puppet theatre production. Some scholars have even compared Woyzeck to Hamlet in its “melancholic outlook and the calculating mumbling madness of its protagonist”.
Certainly to mainstream American audiences, Woyzeck may seem an obscure work, possibly never even heard of by many avid theatre goers. Perhaps a little background investigation will enlighten us and pique our interest in seeing this most daring and provocative piece of “modern” theatre.
Woyzeck, (prounced Voy-tsek) written by Georg Büchner around 1836-37 is based on a true account of a poor man who was executed for stabbing his wife, Marie, to death. Büchner became fascinated with the case, so much so that he used it as inspiration for the play that would culminate his short literary career. Georg Büchner was born in 1813 and was raised in a well educated family and studied science and medicine. In addition he had a great love of Shakespeare. During his studies he took an interest in politics and became somewhat of a radical revolutionary against the Hessian Government. In an attempt to mobilize the peasantry, he published a famous revolutionary political tract, The Hessian Courtier. Because of his radical political involvement, Büchner was eventually forced to flee Germany altogether for Zurich. After settling there, he relinquished his political fervor and developed a politically-disillusioned outlook that manifested itself deeply in his three plays, Danton's Death, Leonce and Lena, and especially his ultimate effort, Woyzeck.
The University of Tennessee | College of Arts & Sciences | UTK Theatre Department | Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 | 865-974-5161
