Synopses & Reviews
From Morning To Midnight, among the most frequently performed German Expressionist works, charts the life of a cashier who steals money from the bank and flees to Berlin. The unnamed protagonist's bid to escape his middle-class daily life is ultimately frustrated. It is a popular piece in which Kaiser satirized the cheapness and futility of modern society. His hero, a kind of machine-age Everyman, searches everywhere for some kind of fulfilment - in commercial sex, in salvationist religion - but discovers through a series of nightmarish episodes that the world is deceitful and illusory. In the end, disillusioned and pursued by the police, he takes his own life.
This new version by Dennis Kelly, opened at the National Theatre's Lyttelton Theatre in November 2013, as part of the Nationals 50th Anniversary Season.
"Offers an exhilarating antidote to the restraints of naturalistic theatre...this is a company show in which Kaiser's savage parable has been brought abundantly to life." Four stars - Guardian
"Dennis Kellys new version of the text remains crisp." Four stars Evening Standard
Synopsis
One of the most popular German Expressionist works, in a new version for The National Theatre's 50th anniversary season.
Synopsis
From Morning to Midnight charts the life of a cashier who steals money from the bank and flees to Berlin. The unnamed protagonist's bid to escape his middle-class daily life is ultimately frustrated, as Kaiser satirizes the cheapness and futility of modern society. The hero, a kind of machine-age Everyman, discovers that the world is deceitful and illusory.
About the Author
Georg Kaiser (1878-1945) was the leader of Germany's expressionist movement in theatre. He was, along with Gerhart Hauptmann, the most frequently performed playwright in the Weimar Republic. Georg Kaiser's plays include
The Burghers of Calais (1913),
From Morn to Midnight (1912), and a trilogy, comprising
The Coral (1917),
Gas (1918),
Gas II (1920). In 1938, the Nazis banned Kaiser's plays, and he went into exile in Switzerland. Although he abandoned expressionism, he continued to write, most notably,
The Raft of the Medusa (1945). Kaiser died on June 4, 1945, in Ascona, Switzerland. He left behind more than 60 plays including
The Phantom Lover (1928),
The Tsar Has His Photo Taken (1928) with music by Kurt Weill,
Two Ties (1929) with music by Mischa Spoliansky,
Silverlake (1933) also with music by Kurt Weill,
The Gardener of Toulouse (1938), and
Alain und Elise (1940).
Dennis Kelly is an internationally acclaimed playwright. Stage plays include Debris; Osama the Hero; After the End; Love and Money; Taking Care of Baby; DNA; Orphans; and The Gods Weep. Dennis co-wrote the award winning comedy series Pulling (Silver River and BBC 3, 2006 - 09) and wrote the stage adaptation for Roald Dahl's Matilda, which earned him a 2013 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.