DE PROFUNDIS
The Coronet Theatre
★★★★
“a powerful study of suffering, resilience and renewal”
The Berliner Ensemble – founded by Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel – returns to London with the UK premiere of Oscar Wilde’s ‘De Profundis’. This finely judged German-language production realises Wilde’s final major prose work with fitting intelligence and emotional intensity.
Written while imprisoned for “gross indecency” to the man Wilde blamed for his ruination, ‘De Profundis’ is a raw and searching account of the catastrophe that came to define his life.
Wilde’s longest autobiographical work – translated to German by Mirko Bonné and adapted with dramaturg Johannes Nölting – is distilled into a portrait of profound mental distress. Yet from that suffering emerges an extraordinary lyricism, rich with devastatingly critical self-reflection. Far from a lament, it movingly charts Wilde’s search for spiritual strength, revealing deep transformation and culminating in fragile hope. As a non-German speaker, I sadly can’t speak to the subtleties of Bonné’s translation, but Wilde’s humanity remains unmistakable.
Oliver Reese’s direction is elegant in its simplicity. Confined to a cramped, elevated cell, Wilde is at once isolated and exposed. His sprawling prison letter is deftly shaped into episodes of shifting emotional intensity – a fittingly fragmented window into a volatile mind. Reese makes shrewd use of minimal props and space, with changes in movement, tone and perspective ensuring the austerity never feels static. A stuffed bird emerges from a plastic bag, offering the only clue to Wilde’s previous lifestyle before gathering new meaning, while Wilde’s eventual reclothing suggests reconstruction – though forever blackened. The production’s greatest strength is also its main challenge – the keen focus puts language centre stage, and for English-speaking audiences some of Wilde’s lyrical beauty is inevitably lost to the surtitles. Even so, the emotional force carries powerfully across the language divide.
Jörg Gollasch’s score provides a resonant counterpoint to the stark staging. Abstract yet expressive, it mirrors the emotional contours of Wilde’s text, amplifying its impact without overwhelming it. Equally effective is the strategic use of silence, lending key moments an almost unbearable intimacy and reinforcing Wilde’s profound loneliness.
Hansjörg Hartung’s striking design is modern, minimalist and monochrome – the antithesis of Wilde’s pre-prison life. By stripping away familiar mythology, it leaves behind the man. The sense of confinement is palpable, heightened by Steffen Heinke’s superb lighting, particularly in the unsettling image of the ceiling closing in. Elina Schnizler’s plain shirt and tie complete the effect, replacing Wilde’s famously extravagant image with one of conformity and ordinariness.
Acclaimed German actor Jens Harzer attacks Wilde’s words with ferocious intensity and disarming vulnerability. Even through the language barrier, his deeply felt performance proves utterly captivating, illuminating the emotional depths of Wilde’s most personal work.
Berliner Ensemble’s ‘De Profundis’ transforms Wilde’s despair into a powerful study of suffering, resilience and renewal. While it undoubtedly lands with greater force for German speakers, its clarity and humanity make it well worth experiencing.
DE PROFUNDIS
The Coronet Theatre
Reviewed on 2nd October 2026
by Hannah Bothelton
Photography by Jörg Brüggemann
