Nocturne

by Marius von Mayenburg, Laurent Muhleisen (translator)

The people who buy paintings like this aren't just driven by aesthetic desire. People who buy paintings like this want a story. A story that catapults them into the orbit of the Führer.

As Nicola and Philipp are clearing out their late father's house, they find an old painting stashed in the a quaint watercolour of a church on a pale summer day, signed 'A. Hitler'.

Nicola wants to sell it. Philipp wants to keep it. Philipp's wife Judith wants to burn it.

A jagged satire from one of Germany's foremost playwrights, Nachtland opened at the Young Vic Theatre, London, in February 2024.

Genres: Fiction, Plays

80 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2024

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, rounded down.

Mayenburg remains one of my fave contemporary playwrights, and this is one of his best. A family clearing up after the demise of the patriarch finds a painting signed by A. Hitler hidden in the attic and all hell breaks loose - especially for the Jewish wife of one of the sons. My one qualm is that once the main premise is established it just keeps going around in circles without much progression. Clever ending however.

https://amp.theguardian.com/stage/202...
https://www.ft.com/content/0af233e6-a...
https://www.timeout.com/london/theatr...
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/th...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cf0r...
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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=421...

[Baptiste Debu · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup trop rigolé pour une pièce qui parle beaucoup trop de Hitler, des personnages insupportables pile ce qu'il faut pour pas être détestables

[Ben Kruskal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can you really consider a piece of art without thinking about the artist? How can/should we handle it when art is made by odious people?

When an elderly German man dies, his adult children discover an old, pretty but unremarkable watercolor painting in his attic. In order to decide what to do with it, they examine it, and find the artist's signature: A. Hitler.

A short play that wrestles with this weighty question.

[Damien Tournay · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'histoire classique d'une famille, en l'occurence un frère et une soeur, avec leurs conjoints respectifs, qui commencent à se disputer en vidant la maison du père récemment décédé... mais l'objet de la dispute ne porte pas sur n'importe quel objet... il s'agit d'un tableau peint par Adolf Hitler. Dans cette famille allemande, le passé ressurgit.

[Bleu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.9 he is very provocative in very mature way ,love him

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[zoagli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bitterböse, wie immer bei Marius von Mayenburg. Aber dieses Mal auch kohärent, das ist nicht immer der Fall.