Frank Wedekind (1864-1918) is a German playwright best known to fans of Louise Brooks as the author of the Lulu plays, which served as the basis for the actress’s later 1929 silent film, Pandora’s Box.
Wedekind also authored another significant work, Spring Awakening. In recent years, it was turned into a Tony-Award winning smash hit on Broadway. This rock music adaptation of Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play about troubled youth has been performed across the United States with great success.
With some regularity, it seems, new stage versions of both Spring Awakening and the Lulu plays are springing up everywhere. (Just set your browser’s key-word search to “Frank Wedekind” to see evidence of the Wedekind revival.) There was even an adaption of Spring Awakening in Egypt some month’s back.
Now comes something different – a one woman stage play based on the life of Tilly Wedekind, the playwright’s wife, and muse. Tilly was a singular personality who appeared alongside her husband in some of his most famous works. Tilly even appeared as Lulu in Pandora’s Box.
This new play is called Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love. It’s by Bella Merlin and is based on many years research by the author. Merlin is a British-born actress and teacher now based at the University of California, Davis. Like Tilly, Merlin once played Lulu in a staging of Lulu in London in the 1990s. That’s where Merlin got interested in the actress behind the character.
As Merlin more than suggests, Tilly was molded into one of her husband’s characters. She devoted her life to her husband’s work, and during their marriage he wrote powerful plays fueled by their tempestuous relationship. Frank often insisted that Tilly play the female leads.
During their marriage, Frank took control of Tilly in nearly every respect, insisting that without him, she would be a no-body. Hence the name “Tilly No-Body” – a name she once even used for herself.
This 75 minute play follows the tumbling thoughts of Tilly. Beginning with her attempted suicide and travelling backwards in time, it weaves together biography, personal letters, dramatic incidents, puppets and original songs; Merlin traces the Wedekinds’ passionate and tempestuous marriage, leading to Tilly’s attempted suicide and Frank’s premature death. The setting is a hotel room in Munich, Germany in 1917.
This new work is a production of the Sideshow Physical Theatre Company in collaboration with the University of California, Davis Department of Theatre & Dance. Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love is directed by Miles Anderson, with music by David Roesner. (Sample the song, “Tilly Dances,” at http://www.colorblind-visuals.com/files/tillydances.mp3)
Performances of Tilly No-Body: Catastrophes of Love runs through October 24 at the Vanderhoef Studio Theatre in the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts in Davis, California. Tickets are $30.00 and $15.00
For more info: Bella Merlin’s production blog can be found at http://tillynobody-bellamerlin.blogspot.com/ While an information page on the Mondavi Center website can be found at http://mondaviarts.org/events/event.cfm?event_id=933&season=2010
Thomas Gladysz is a longtime fan of Louise Brooks, so much so that in 1995 he founded the Louise Brooks Society, an internet-based archive and fan club devoted to the silent film star. Gladysz has contributed to books on the actress, organized exhibits, appeared on television, and introduced her films around the country. Recently, he edited and wrote the introduction to the “Louise Brooks edition” of Margarete Bohme’s The Diary of a Lost Girl. Gladysz will speak about his new book at the San Francisco Public Library on November 14th (Louise Brooks’ birthday).
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