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The Ugly One
Lette thought he was normal. When the extent of his ugliness is revealed he turns to a plastic surgeon for help. But after the bandages come off, Lette soon learns that there is such a thing as too beautiful.
'Owing glancing debts to Mary Shelley and HG Wells, Mayenburg's 60-minute play squarely hits any number of our society's obsession with external beauty, the brutality of capitalism, and the danger of treating defining organs like mechanical parts. But, deftly translated from German by Maja Zade, the play makes its points with the lightest of touches.' Guardian
The Ugly One is a scalpel-sharp comedy on beauty, identity and getting ahead in life.
The play is published as a programme text edition to coincide with its British premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 13 September 2007.
'Owing glancing debts to Mary Shelley and HG Wells, Mayenburg's 60-minute play squarely hits any number of our society's obsession with external beauty, the brutality of capitalism, and the danger of treating defining organs like mechanical parts. But, deftly translated from German by Maja Zade, the play makes its points with the lightest of touches.' Guardian
The Ugly One is a scalpel-sharp comedy on beauty, identity and getting ahead in life.
The play is published as a programme text edition to coincide with its British premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 13 September 2007.
80 pages, Paperback
First published September 12, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 31, 2023
Reread review, 10/'23:
Raised rating from 4 to 5.
I am doing a deep dive into all the plays of von Mayenburg that have been translated into English, in chronological order, so did a reread of this as part of that project. Written in 2007 and first performed in both German and in English that same year (and recently revived at the Hope Theatre in 9/23), it was his 11th play, but only the third to be translated.
This time around, the confusing elements cited below were not such a problem, and I can see now how the 'awkward' transitions are actually an integral feature of the play. Intriguingly, in the reviews posted below, various productions ran timewise between 55 and 85 minutes, demonstrating how flexible a play this can be in a good director's hands. Also, I never noticed before that the cover illustration is of two characters with connecting plugs for faces, which is also a clever illustration of what is going on in the play (protagonist Lette is an inventor of such plugs). Really wish I could see this performed, or even take a crack at directing it myself.
Original review, 5/'21: Really intriguing play on identity and the nature of beauty - but it's hampered somewhat by unclear stage directions and the fact that three actors play multiple parts which all bear the same name (e.g, the single actress plays three different characters all named Fanny - and it is not always clear WHICH of the three she is supposed to be at any one time.) Plus, scenes tend to meld into one another with no transition, so sometimes the switch is jarring and you can't really tell where you are in the story till halfway through a scene.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/200...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/200...
https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/...
https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-t...
https://www.londonpubtheatres.com/rev...
https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/...
https://brightonsource.co.uk/reviews/...
https://thetheatretimes.com/ugly-one-...
Raised rating from 4 to 5.
I am doing a deep dive into all the plays of von Mayenburg that have been translated into English, in chronological order, so did a reread of this as part of that project. Written in 2007 and first performed in both German and in English that same year (and recently revived at the Hope Theatre in 9/23), it was his 11th play, but only the third to be translated.
This time around, the confusing elements cited below were not such a problem, and I can see now how the 'awkward' transitions are actually an integral feature of the play. Intriguingly, in the reviews posted below, various productions ran timewise between 55 and 85 minutes, demonstrating how flexible a play this can be in a good director's hands. Also, I never noticed before that the cover illustration is of two characters with connecting plugs for faces, which is also a clever illustration of what is going on in the play (protagonist Lette is an inventor of such plugs). Really wish I could see this performed, or even take a crack at directing it myself.
Original review, 5/'21: Really intriguing play on identity and the nature of beauty - but it's hampered somewhat by unclear stage directions and the fact that three actors play multiple parts which all bear the same name (e.g, the single actress plays three different characters all named Fanny - and it is not always clear WHICH of the three she is supposed to be at any one time.) Plus, scenes tend to meld into one another with no transition, so sometimes the switch is jarring and you can't really tell where you are in the story till halfway through a scene.
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/200...
https://www.theguardian.com/stage/200...
https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/...
https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-t...
https://www.londonpubtheatres.com/rev...
https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/...
https://brightonsource.co.uk/reviews/...
https://thetheatretimes.com/ugly-one-...
Currently Reading
August 29, 2012I would like to read more books by Marius von Mayenburg!
November 6, 2020
Um...WHAT
July 12, 2025
If melatonin can help it, I don't usually wake up at 6 am, at least stay awake. This morning was incredibly pleasant because I've apparently found another play to love deeply. I would love to see how the logistics of this play out in a real life setting. Let me see if I can find it actually.
I was wondering how it could work to have basically only 4 actors and multiple characters, but the most impressive thing about this is that it works astonishingly. It's been a while since I've felt the author to be an artist.
I was wondering how it could work to have basically only 4 actors and multiple characters, but the most impressive thing about this is that it works astonishingly. It's been a while since I've felt the author to be an artist.
February 1, 2023
Una obra que no deja de sorprender mientras se va leyendo. Con un ritmo frenético, lleva a la reflexión sobre el ser humano, la importancia de lo auténtico y la apariencia. La parte final exige mucho a quien represente a Lette… me alegra saber que yo haré otro personaje. Muy recomendable.
October 11, 2019
yes i study theatre let me live
January 16, 2022
Fun play which makes you think about identity and the importance of physical beauty. A few strange things happen though.
April 21, 2011
A really interesting play. What it has to say about identity is quite interesting, and it tells it in a very haunting way.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews