Don Juan Comes Back From the War

Synopsis

Don Juan's back from the War and he's got some catching up to do. Berlin may be crumbling, but after years of abstinence, the Don is ready for more of the debauchery that once made his name. Yet despite his best efforts, the years of excess are beginning to catch up with him. Amidst political upheaval and economic ruin, Don Juan finds himself increasingly at odds with the man he used to be. Is this notorious lothario finally about to experience a sudden change of heart?

Our Review:

2 March 2012

Relentless, bleak, dour - not necessarily things you'd associate with "the most famous penis in Germany", as one awestruck nurse describes Don Juan while he lies in a hospital bed in bomb-ravaged Berlin, days after the city is taken at the end of the first world war.

But then, this isn't Don Juan as we think we know him.

In Germany-raised Odon von Horvath's 1936 play the philanderer is as damaged as Germany's capital, mentally if not physically - although he still wants to let loose on booze and women.

It won't be easy because the war has changed everything.

This is the first outing of award-winning writer Duncan Macmillan's new version of Don Juan Comes Back from the War and as soon as we enter the Finborough's small theatre our ears are battered by the rattle and boom of bombs, hazy light filtering through smoke.

As the only man on stage, Zubin Varla would seem like a tortured soul if you couldn't sense the collateral damage ...

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Latest User Review

Julia Johnson - 7 March 2012:

Am absolutely going again. The staging and performances are brilliant and Zubin Varla is superb. Would love to see this given the opportunity of a bigger stage but the impact in this intimate space has it's own benefits - so grab a seat..there's only 40 after all! ...

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