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ABOUT ONDINE: At first glance, "Ondine" appears a sparkling comedy. It is the fabled story of a little mermaid-like creature (an ondine) who gives up her entire world, the sea, for the love of a knight named "Hans". But Hans cannot be faithful, and he fails her. Beginning like the gilded fairy tale that our "Ondine" is, a Belle Époque proscenium arch frames the stage, turning the theatre into a glittering jewel box. Suddenly, a red satin opera curtain swooshes up revealing comic characters popping in and out of secret compartments in a magnificent, life-size, Advent calendar. Like brightly painted figures in a Bavarian coo-coo clock, all clothed in jewel tones, and bathed in golden light, the characters in the first act are a child's sugary fantasy – full of rash promises. Dramaturgically, as the production matures through acts two and three, the magic dust wears off (as in so many other great plays), and the impossibility of Ondine's love is exposed by the harsh lessons of experience. With experience comes suffering, and with suffering, wisdom. On an empty stage with the real back wall of the theatre now exposed to the audience, Ondine says goodbye to her knight – as real water seeps like raindrops down the exposed brick, flooding the stage and taking the little ondine back to the sea. But she has learned to forgive, and find love in human imperfection: "You used to laugh at me because I always made the same movements in your house. You said I counted my steps. It was true. It was because I knew the day would come when I would have to go back. I was training myself. And now, in the depths of the Rhine or the ocean, without knowing why, I shall go on forever making the movements that I made when I lived with you. When I plunge to the bottom, I shall be going to the cellar – when I spring to the surface, I shall be going to the attic. I shall pass through doors in the water. I shall open windows. In this way I shall live a little with you always. Among the wild ondines, there will be one who will forever be your wife." |