Michael Kramer

»Michael Kramer« is a naturalistic drama in four acts by German dramatist and novelist Gerhart Hauptmann. The play received its world premiere on 21 December 1900 at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. It was to be the birth of a new epoch: after attending the dress rehearsal, poet Rainer Maria Rilke famously wrote of feeling "stirred" and "utterly awestruck" by the work's emotional intensity and eloquence. What moved Rilke so much was the fate of the ageing art professor: no longer able to live up to his own high standards, Kramer must witness how his weak-minded son, whose artistic abilities happen to greatly surpass his own, squanders his talents and ultimately turns to suicide. Kramer's harrowing final monologue, in which he mourns the death of his son, stands out as one of the crowning moments of this now-famous play.

Uwe Eric Laufenberg takes on the title role in this production by Ingo Kerkhof.