Scherenschnitt
Scherenschnitt is a German play by Paul Pörtner (1925–1984)[1].
Contents
The original text
Originally performed as Scherenschnitt oder Der Mörder sind Sie in the Ulmer Theatre, Ulm, Germany in 1963, and published as Scherenschnitt and called a "Kriminalstück zum Mitspielen" (i.e. ) in 1964
Translations and adaptations
Adapted into English as Shear Madness by Marilyn Abrams and Bruce Jordan. []
(The title not to be confused with Sheer Madness, the English version of Heller Wahn, a 1983 German arthouse film directed by Margarethe von Trotta).
The English version called Shear Madness became one of the longest-running nonmusical plays in the world, celebrating on January 29, 2020, the Boston cast celebrated its 40th anniversary
Performance history in South Africa
1997: Staged by Pieter Toerien Productions in the Rex Garner Theatre in November 1997, adapted by Malcolm Terrey, directed by Terrey and Rex Garner, with Malcolm Terrey, Annelisa Weiland, Roger Dwyer, Leon van Heerden, Melody O'Brian and Carl Beukes.
1997: The same production was staged in the Theatre on the Bay in Cape Town in December
1998: The same production was staged in the Momentum Theatre in Pretoria in January.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shear_Madness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Pörtner
Die Burger, 22 December 1997.
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