Berliner Ensemble: De Profundis by Oscar Wilde

110m · Theatre

Directed by Oliver Reese & Performed by Jens Harzer “ When one has weighed the sun in the balance, and measured the steps of the moon, and mapped out the seven heavens star by star, there still remains oneself .” – Oscar Wilde From the Berliner Ensemble , award-winning German actor Jens Harzer performs Oscar Wilde ’s De Profundis . Directed by Berliner Ensemble Artistic Director Oliver Reese , this masterful performance captures Wilde’s impassioned reflection on his life and society. “ A sensational, unforgettable solo performance. ” (Welt) In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years in prison – for being provocative; for loving men, for not hiding his true self and for defying convention. His trial was meant to be a warning to others – against the crime of homosexuality and his irrepressible drive for freedom and recognition. There he wrote a long, impassioned letter to his estranged young lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. Later published as De Profundis , Wilde’s letter describes the unbearable pains and blissful pleasures of his love, as well as his views on art, Christianity, and incarceration. And about a society that doesn’t tolerate what it doesn’t understand. De Profundis , is the last outcry of a broken, but untamed spirit. Bankrupt and shunned by society, Wilde writes with literary mastery about contempt and loneliness, about pride and pain. What remains when everything that a person once was is taken away from them? Text: Oscar Wilde Direction: Oliver Reese Performer: Jens Harzer Stage Design: Hansjörg Hartung Costume Design: Elina Schnizler Music: Jörg Gollasch Lighting Design: Steffen Heinke Dramaturgy: Johannes Nölting German Translation: Mirko Bonné