Ironic Sex Dates in "Reigen" at the Reichenau Festival

The Festspiele Reichenau is presenting Arthur Schnitzler's once scandalous drama "Reigen" (La Ronde), offering a satirical look at Viennese society at the turn of the 20th century. The production, directed by Alexandra Henkel and Dietmar König, retains the play's historical setting.

Schnitzler's "Reigen," written between 1896 and its 1912 premiere in Budapest, uses a chain of ten interconnected dialogues to expose the bourgeois double standards and rigid social hierarchies of the era. Each scene depicts a sexual encounter between two characters from different social strata, illustrating the era's moral complexities and power dynamics.

The play's original subject matter was so controversial that it was first performed in Hungarian translation. It delves into the relationships between a prostitute and a soldier, a housemaid and a young gentleman, a sweet girl and a poet, among others, revealing the hidden desires and societal constraints of the time.

The current production at Festspiele Reichenau features actors such as Therese Affolter, Stefan Jürgens, and Markus Freistätter, continuing the tradition of exploring Schnitzler's critical examination of societal norms and human relationships.