La Ronde

Schnitzler's masterpiece, <I>La Ronde</I>, shows a spectrum of social class from prostitutes to noblemen in a series of drily observed, loveless sexual encounters. Remembered by many as the basis of a famous film in 1950, the real notoriety of <I>La Ronde</I> goes back to 1900 when it was privately printed and subsequently banned. It was not performed until 1920 in Berlin, where anti-Semitic riots broke out, resulting in the arrest and trial of the cast and director, allegedly for obscenity. The controversy continued with David Hare's adaptation, <I>The Blue Room</I>, which starred Nicole Kidman, at the Donmar Warehouse.<br/><br/>This translation is by the playwright and critic Frank Marcus, who has also provided a full introduction to Schnitzler's life and work.