The Berliner Ensemble’s production of De Profundis is visually and audibly stunning. Beginning in darkness, with German text and surtitles on TVs either side of the stage, the light slowly illuminates Jens Harzer — first his face, and then with imperceptible slowness, eventually his whole body. What is stunning about these opening moments is that despite being completely still, there is a physical electricity to the moment and the performace.
The production isn’t short, or easy to watch; that’s a credit to its excellence. The angst, anger, love, hatred, anxiety, a whole shocking range of enormous, conflicting emotions pile up in a literal shaft of light, as Harzer maneuvers in the shocking white cell. The sound design makes it cavernous and oppressive, and the lighting somehow makes the claustrophobic space bigger, then tiny, in almost an instant.
This is a virtuoso production on every level. Not a beat lands incorrectly — and the audience at The Coronet felt this, leaping to their feet for a lengthy and vocal ovation at its conclusion.