Bartleby, clerk in a law office, is hard-working and diligent. But one day, when asked to help proofread a document, Bartleby answers with what soon becomes his perpetual but friendly response to every request – “I would prefer not to.” The employer is stunned …

Melville’s book “Bartleby, the Scrivener” is a subversive story of refusal that has achieved cult status and still continues to provoke lively discussions. Can “doing nothing” be considered a boycott? Bartleby – slacker or free-spirit? Victim or offender? Provocateur or loner?

I WOULD PREFER NOT TO
adapted from Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street“

Dates
Autumn/Winter 2020

Cast Reinhard Hinzpeter
Director Bettina Kaminski
Stage design Gerd Friedrich
Dramaturgy Sten Volkemer

 

Reviews

Premiere 06 February 2015
Duration 1 hour 10 minutes without intermission