Review: LENZ at Kinneksbond

On the 15th of November, the Kinneksbond received an interesting version of Georg Büchner's Lenz, a pivotal text that helped shape the early decades of German modernism. Very few literary works from its time have focused so openly on depression, degrading mental health and the weight of loneliness and social isolation on the human mind as Lenz, making it no easy challenge to present this work as a play.

The acclaimed actor Luc Feit was responsible for conducting the entire show, being the sole person on stage for over an hour. With no other performers and no more than seven buckets of ice to interact with, the strength of his monologues and his physical presence were absolutely key for the success of this play. But even with so few elements, there was a great deal of symbolism throughout the different scenes, which greatly enriched the performance.

Given the nature of this show, we cannot go into too many details about the plot. Such a deep and heartfelt reflection on the pains of existence usually has little narrative progression, even when a gradual spiral of depression and loneliness is at its very core. Some past events are sometimes described by Feit, but these are not as important as the effects they have on the character on stage. Action was secondary, reaction was everything. And it is here that we find what truly made this show so special - it was not simply about the wonderful script or the great delivery, but how the combination of both made these feelings so frighteningly relatable.

Congratulations to everyone involved.

Image credit: Bohumil Kostohryz