La Ronde

About

La Ronde (Reigen), a play by Arthur Schnitzler (1862–1931), which at the time of its publication provoked virulent critical and popular responses, deserves to be staged at the Estates Theatre. Written at the very end of the 19th century and made up of a set of ten interlocking scenes featuring conversations between couples before and after sexual encounters, scrutinising the sexual morality of Viennese society, it comes across as a dance whirl of yearning and desire in the final years of the century. It can be construed as an account of the era, yet we perceive it as a timeless insight into the most fundamental human need – the need to share and feel close to other people. Are we lonely, or are we not capable of converging? A strange ritualism leads to seeking parallels. The text prompts us to ponder how time passes. At first glance, it would appear that we know what we are up to. Yet we will try to explore it …

A new Czech translation of the Austrian dramatist and prose writer’s play was made by Pavel Novotný (b. 1976), a poet and Germanist, the holder of the Magnesia Litera award, who pays special attention to the onomatopoeic qualities of the Czech language. Schnitzler’s La Ronde will be adapted in Prague by the distinguished French stage director Arthur Nauzyciel, head of the Théâtre National de Bretagne (TNB), noted for highly stylised dramatic expression and meticulous work with literary texts. The omnipresent emptiness of human relationships, reduced to serve mere satiation of erotic and sexual needs, has been a theme he has focused on in several of his previous productions. Nauzyciel’s La Dame aux camélias was a great theatre event in France prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.