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Over There
A programme text edition published to coincide with the world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre, London, on 25 February 2009
"I found you. You're here. And I was over there. But now I'm over here. I'm here. You're my brother. I love you"
When Franz's mother escaped to the West with one of her identical twin boys, she left the other behind. Now, 25 years later, Karl crosses the border in search of his other half. As history takes an unexpected turn, the brothers must struggle to reconnect.
Mark Ravenhill's visceral new play examines the hungers released when two countries, separated by a common language, meet again.
"I found you. You're here. And I was over there. But now I'm over here. I'm here. You're my brother. I love you"
When Franz's mother escaped to the West with one of her identical twin boys, she left the other behind. Now, 25 years later, Karl crosses the border in search of his other half. As history takes an unexpected turn, the brothers must struggle to reconnect.
Mark Ravenhill's visceral new play examines the hungers released when two countries, separated by a common language, meet again.
- GenresPlays
64 pages, Paperback
First published February 25, 2009
24 people want to read
About the author
Mark Ravenhill
63 books41 followersMark Ravenhill (born 7 June 1966) is an English playwright, actor and journalist.
His plays include Shopping and Fucking (first performed in 1996), Some Explicit Polaroids (1999) and Mother Clap's Molly House (2001). He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He often writes for the arts section of The Guardian. He is Associate Director of London's Little Opera House at The King's Head Theatre.
His plays include Shopping and Fucking (first performed in 1996), Some Explicit Polaroids (1999) and Mother Clap's Molly House (2001). He made his acting debut in his monologue Product, at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He often writes for the arts section of The Guardian. He is Associate Director of London's Little Opera House at The King's Head Theatre.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 17, 2015
I just have to debunk this T-Rex of a play. These brothers, or, symbols for eastern socialist Germany and the west are two twins who in the end, un-jointly get along in the end, an this is done ingeniously and magnificently. god damn it's hard to follow yes I understand your pains. There is a relationship here though. There are characters. This can be done in a black box performance, if done right. The supermarket crap just symbolizes the destruction of the Berlin Wall, and the father socialist keeping one brother and the mom keeping the other; well, we see this bond that you think can't be broken but it is because YES freedom was one but it doesn't mean that the socialist party had No influence on Karl. The sponge being the child is good cause it shows how young minds suck up any Information like sponges. Anyway I'm rambling, you really need to know your history about our relationship with Germany to get this play. We devoured them in a way, and that's what this play is saying. We are the same, cause we are people, but they are different shades. One is black and white while the other likes to say opposites as the term.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 30, 2024
Very interesting play about many things, including identity, love, modern Germany, and how divisions affect trust.
It is quite a brief play, and it is pretty amazing how much is fit in here and how well it is done.
It remains though a play I would have to see performed to fully grasp the depth of its emotions.
One note: the characters are twins. In it's first production, the two actors were actually brothers and much is made about their identical appearance. My question is an open one: what if the play was done with two actors who didn't look like twins, would this deepen the play or ruin it?
It is quite a brief play, and it is pretty amazing how much is fit in here and how well it is done.
It remains though a play I would have to see performed to fully grasp the depth of its emotions.
One note: the characters are twins. In it's first production, the two actors were actually brothers and much is made about their identical appearance. My question is an open one: what if the play was done with two actors who didn't look like twins, would this deepen the play or ruin it?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews