Synopsis

A divided Berlin in the late 1980s

Franz and Karl, identical twins separated as infants when their mother fled to West Germany, reunite as adults across the Berlin Wall. As the political landscape shifts dramatically around them, the brothers struggle to reconcile their shared DNA with their vastly different life experiences. Franz, a product of Western capitalism, grapples with his identity and purpose, while Karl clings desperately to the crumbling ideals of East German socialism.

Ravenhill’s play is a searing exploration of identity, ideology, and the legacy of division. Through a series of taut, often darkly comic scenes spanning several years, he charts the brothers’ attempts to understand and ultimately become each other. The dialogue crackles with tension, veering between intimacy and alienation as Franz and Karl mirror and distort each other’s speech and mannerisms. As the Wall falls and Germany reunifies, the play takes on a surreal, almost mythic quality, with the twins’ struggle becoming a potent metaphor for a nation attempting to stitch itself back together. Ravenhill’s unflinching examination of trauma, masculinity, and the seductive pull of extremism offers no easy answers, instead challenging audiences to confront the complexities of reconciliation on both personal and political levels.