Overview

• Harzer joins the Berliner Ensemble with a nearly two-hour solo adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s prison letter De Profundis, directed and text-adapted by Intendant Oliver Reese.
• Reviews report prolonged applause and standing ovations, with widespread praise for Harzer’s vocal precision, physical intensity and sustained stage presence.
• Neues Deutschland and der Freitag fault the production for clumsy or thin directorial choices and for overlooking the brutality of prison labor, even as they laud Harzer.
• WELT commends Hansjörg Hartung’s cage-like set and calls Steffen Heinke’s lighting spectacular, noting costuming by Elina Schnizler and organ music by Jörg Gollasch.
• Further performances at the Berliner Ensemble are scheduled for September 18, September 29, then October 6.