Theatre, 1984

From the Life of the Rain Worms (Aus dem Leben der Regenwürmer)

Bergman's production of P O Enquist's play on the artist's circumstances and relationship to his/her surroundings was met with a lukewarm reception.

About the production

Reviewers of the Munich production of From the Life of the Rain Worms harshly criticized Enquist's play about a ficticious meeting between two Proletarian artist, the 19th-century Danish actress Johanne Heiberg and fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen. Writing it off as a set of 'terrible trivialities', 'a clever conversation piece without munch dramatic tension', and 'a series of confession monologues', the critical consensus was that had it not been for Bergman turning a banal piece into brilliant theatre, the play would not have been worth seeing. The opening night audience seemed pleased enough, though, giving standing ovations to Bergman and the ensemble during a dozen curtain calls.

Sources

  • The Ingmar Bergman Archives.
  • Birgitta Steene, Ingmar Bergman: A Reference Guide, (Amsterdam University Press, 2005).

Collaborators

  • Christine Buchegger, Johanne Luise Heiberg
  • Horst Sachtleben, Johan Ludvig Heiberg
  • Heinz Bennent, Hans Christian Andersen
  • Monika John, Old woman
  • Heike Wiehle, Dramaturgy
  • Per Olov Enquist, Author
  • Hansgeorg Eder, Stage manager
  • Ingmar Bergman, Director
  • Annette Gassman, Assistant director
  • Marik Vos, Designer
  • Stefan Böhm, Assistant designer
  • Svea Köller-Zweig, Prompter
  • Angelika Gundlach, Translation