The Sorrows of Young Werther

Plot
Shortly after young Werther settles in the village of Wahlheim - in the heart of spring, surrounded by nature - he meets Lotte. During a stormy ball, dancing and quoting Klopstock, he falls hopelessly in love with her. His misfortune: Lotte is already engaged to the upright Albert, a marriage she promised her dying mother she would make. Werther befriends Albert while continuing to worship Lotte like a saint, his love entirely unrequited. When, after a long period of restraint, he finally lets his passion carry him too close to her, she pulls away. Feeling that he has also betrayed his friend, Werther sees no way out but death.

When Goethe's epistolary novel appeared in 1774, it became a bestseller almost overnight and made its author more famous than he ever wanted to be. Goethe himself wrote in "Dichtung und Wahrheit": "Die Wirkung des Büchleins war groß, ja ungeheuer" - "The effect of this little book was great, indeed enormous." Some critics accused it of inciting suicide. The question of responsibility for one's own life is posed in Werther with tragic urgency.

Cast
Werther - Johannes Rebers

Director … Eike Hannemann
Set & Costumes … Birgit Stoessel

Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes, no interval