Minetti: ein Porträt des Künstlers als alter Mann

by Thomas Bernhard

An Edinburgh International Festival production.

The lobby of a grand hotel, New Year’s Eve. A snow storm rages. Minetti, a long-forgotten actor, arrives in great spirits to discuss his comeback as King Lear with a theatre director.

While he waits patiently in the hotel lobby, Minetti’s obsessive personality reveals itself in a series of strange encounters with other guests. He rails against outrageous fortune and unfulfilled ambitions, often colliding with crowds of young hotel guests who frequently burst in to celebrate New Year’s Eve. As with King Lear, the storm which rages outside reflects his turbulent emotions until he finally finds peace and resolution.

Genres: Plays, German Literature

76 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Thomas Bernhard was an Austrian writer who ranks among the most distinguished German-speaking writers of the second half of the 20th century.

Although internationally he’s most acclaimed because of his novels, he was also a prolific playwright. His characters are often at work on a lifetime and never-ending major project while they deal with themes such as suicide, madness and obsession, and, as Bernhard did, a love-hate relationship with Austria. His prose is tumultuous but sober at the same time, philosophic by turns, with a musical cadence and plenty of black humor.

He started publishing in the year 1963 with the novel Frost. His last published work, appearing in the year 1986, was Extinction. Some of his best-known works include The Loser (about a student’s fictionalized relationship with the pianist Glenn Gould), Wittgenstein’s Nephew, and Woodcutters.

Reviews

[pauline]

j’ai rien compris mais anyway je fais confiance à Dudu pour m’éclairer à la rentrée #tentatived’agregnuméro2

[Manuel Alberto Vieira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnífica peça do grande Bernhard. Profundamente autobiográfica, arriscaria dizer.

[Gerhard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beim Lesen hat mich das Stück leider nicht erreicht. Ich denke, dass muss man im Theater sehen und es hängt wohl vom Schauspieler, der den Minetti spielt, ab. In der nächsten Spielzeit gibt es dieses in München zu sehen.

[Camille Brn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si La Tempête de Shakespeare et En attendant Godot avaient un enfant, ce serait cette œuvre. Malheureusement je persiste, je n'aime toujours pas. C'est plus absurde que du Beckett et la traduction ne rend peut-être pas justice à l'oeuvre... (Je mets trois étoiles parce que j'ai eu de la peine pour le personnage quand même)

[Mise en abyme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Je crois que j'ai compris que le mec kiffait Shakespeare 🎭. Maintenant je veux relire La Tempête de Shakespeare et Une Tempête de Césaire pour retrouver Prospéro. C'était absurde comme le sera cette année de concours

[Hémistiche · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est une très belle pièce, très méta, très becktienne. Œuvre la plus courte du programme que je vais me faire un plaisir de relire.

[Marie]

J'ai un peu de mal à évaluer le texte. Ce n'est pas mal écrit, cela se lit, il y a des réflexions intéressantes (quoi que déjà traitées : la société hypocrite et masquée, la destruction de l'art, la jeunesse, la célébrité, les classiques). Il y a une fureur de l'écriture, à l'image de l'artiste en fureur.

[Nataniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raczej by mnie zmęczyło oglądanie tego.

[Hugo Santos]

toda a literatura de thomas bernhard é literatura de obsessão auto e hetero destrutiva

[imponderabilium]

translation into polish by adit

[Juliette Duras · Rating 4 out of 5]

absolument drôle !

[elodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'était intéressant mais très étrange !

[Mathieu · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely. Sad.

I've been too long away from Thomas Bernhard, and especially his plays. Wonderful to have this in English. Please keep the translations coming...

[Harrison Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

“You did the right thing
you have to escape as quickly as possible
no matter where you’re from
otherwise you rot
..
your hometown has a responsibility to its children
The place you were born will destroy you in the end”