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1965

Spring Awakening

Written by Frank Wedekind

Play Details

Context

Artistic Director 
George Devine

Translated By 
Thomas Osborn

Original Language 
German

Dates Performed

Monday 19th April 1965
Main House (Downstairs)

Play Details

Synopsis

A repressive late 19th-century German town, where adolescents grapple with their emerging sexuality and a world that refuses to educate them.

Melchior Gabor, an intellectually curious teenager, finds himself at odds with his repressive society as he and his peers navigate the tumultuous waters of adolescence. His friend Moritz Stiefel struggles with academic pressures and confusing sexual urges, while Wendla Bergmann grapples with her own awakening desires and lack of knowledge about reproduction. As the young characters explore their sexuality and question societal norms, tragedy unfolds, exposing the devastating consequences of ignorance and oppression.

Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening is a bold exploration of teenage sexuality, societal repression, and the consequences of ignorance. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, the play delves into taboo subjects such as abuse, abortion, and suicide, challenging audiences to confront the damaging effects of keeping young people in the dark about their own bodies and desires. The juxtaposition of 19th-century setting with contemporary themes and language (in the musical adaptation) creates a powerful commentary on the timeless struggle between youthful rebellion and authoritarian control.

Director(s)

Desmond O'Donovan

Poster credit

Poster courtesy of V&A Theatre and Performance Archive

Other productions

Cast & Creative

Cast

Bernard Adams

Cast

Jean Anderson

Cast

Andrew Aynsley

Cast

Kenneth Benda

Cast

RIchard Brooke

Cast

Patrick Ellis

Cast

Barry Evans

Cast

John Falconer

Cast

Edwin FInn

Cast

vanessa FOrsyth

Cast

Derek Fowlds

Cast

John Garrie

Cast

Anne Holloway

Cast

Peter Illing

Cast

Sidney Johnson

Cast

Lewis JOnes

Cast

Fletcher Lightfoot

Cast

Julia McCarthy

Cast

Petra Markham

Cast

John H. Moore

Cast

Ambrosine Phillpotts

Cast

Norman Scace

Cast

Colin Spaulk

Cast

Annette Whitley

Cast

Theordore Wilhelm

Translator

Thomas Osborn

Designer

Dacre Punt

Costume

Motley

Sound

Marc Wilkinson

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