German tragedy highlights issues of social inequality

Commonly regarded as one of the most influential German tragedies ever written, Georg Büchner’s “Woyzeck” was performed Friday night at the Wells-Metz Theater.

Though the play was left unfinished at the time of the writer’s death in 1837, it is said to resonate with performers and audience members alike as the first “modern tragedy” and as a forward-thinking critique of socio-economic class divide.

“There are many themes coursing through ‘Woyzeck’ that are eerily applicable to our modern society,” performer Joe Cadiff said.“The first is the glaring class disparity.”

Cadiff, who plays the drum major with whom Woyzeck’s lover has an affair, described the role as larger than life.

“The primary distinction between modern tragedy and those before it is ... the socio-economic status of the protagonist,” Cadiff said.

“‘Woyzeck’ is obviously a modern tragedy as it is centered around the struggles of a poor soldier, his ‘whore’ and their ‘bastard’ child.”

Cadiff said his character takes what he wants.

“It is this ruthless fulfillment of his desires that provides a catalyst for the central action of the play,” he said.

In order to highlight the superiority of the officers in the play, the drum major and three other characters wore stilts and extended trousers. They towered over the other characters.

Costume designer Barbara Abbott said the whole experience challenged her in ways she could never have foreseen.

“I became the person responsible for maintaining the stilts; troubleshooting and fixing problems as they arose,” she said in an email. “I had to learn as I went along.”

Woyzeck, described by Abbott as an otherwise thoughtful and kind man, is forced into a violent conclusion by the stresses and demands of his divided world.

The tragedy of his downfall and the murder he commits have been immortalized in various genres, from the opera “Wozzeck” composed between 1914 and 1922 by the noted atonalist Alban Berg to a 1978 film by Werner Herzog. 

Playing the sadistic and psychologically abusive doctor, another character in stilts, Jacob Halbleib said he encountered complexities in his role.

The abuse of the doctor, as well as the trauma engendered by the drum major, are ultimately responsible for the play’s tragic end.

“He loves to watch pain, his experiments more often than not harm others,” Halbleib said. “Money has never been his problem, but he is still greedy.”