Are women a puzzle?

Anatol is a charming, devil-may-care and slightly melancholic young man who is fond of meeting women. Although most of them struggle in vain not to succumb to his conquering, is it really an exclusively Anatol who chooses his future girlfriends and controls his amorous relationships? Aren’t his self-assuredness and sense of independence a mere self-delusion, just like the mamifold scrapbook from which he picks up one every day? Anatol’s friend Max is an insightful observer of Anatol’s complicated relationships, commenting on all his actions with a unprecedently ironic and detached view. Criticising the morality of the Viennese society at the turn of the 20^th century, Anatol (1893) is the first work by Arthur Schnitzler (1862–1931), Austrian medical doctor, prose and drama writer. In seven conversational episodes, Schnitzler wonders about the main character’s sexual adventures with women of different charms, age, nature and social position. The only thing that unites them is their progressive emancipation. With a sharp sense of humour the play zeroes in on Anatol as a representative of the male gender being astonished and disillusioned when ‘suddenly’ having to do with much more confident and resolute women. The humourous dramatical miniatures will be directed by  Peter Gábor, who had already accentuated gender confrontations in the comedy Mirandolina.

Premiere: at Reduta Theatre on April 21^st, 2023

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