Evening Standard, April 30, 1990, by Melanie McDonagh
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Theatre Manoeuvers is a company engaged in a brave attempt 
to bring to modern audiences lesser-known German plays. 
There can be few people who know anything at all of Lessing 
and Schiller, let alone Friedrich Hebbel. Lessing and 
Schiller have already been tackled by the company; now it is 
Hebbel's turn with his 1944 plays, "Maria Magdalena."

The resuscitation of Hebbel is altogether welcome in the new 
translation by Sarah Somekh. Not quite so welcome is the re-
setting of the play in the Deep South. Admittedly, if it is 
to be brought up to date, there are few other places where 
the religious atmosphere of the play would make sense.

It is a moral melodrama in which family members take their 
responsibilities seriously. Characters either kill 
themselves or others out of a strong sense of propriety.

Klara, the daughter of the local joiner, is pregnant by her 
deeply unpleasant fiance. Her feckless brother, Karl, is 
arrested for suspected jewel theft. The mother promptly dies 
of shock. The father threatens suicide if it turns out that 
his daughter had disgraced the family as well. This all 
happens very rapidly.

Thereafter, Klara's old flame reappears, and in defending 
her honour, kills Leonard and is himself mortally wounded. 
Klara herself commits suicide to stop her father cutting his 
throat.

This seemingly breathless succession of crises belies the 
intensely slow movement of the play. Perhaps it is because a 
Deep South accent means that every word has to be 
painstakingly articulated. Perhaps it is because the 
dramatic weight of the play falls on Klara, and Laura Eddy 
seems overburdened in the role.

The cast undoubtedly tries hard, and David Beeler is 
creditable as Karl, but the overall impression was that of 
well-meaning actors who lacked preparation and cohesion.



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