Ödön von Horváth
CASIMIR AND CAROLINE
The Austrian-Hungarian writer and playwright Ödön von Horváth wrote Casimir and Caroline at the beginning of the 1930s, only a year before Hitler’s rise to power. The break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the economic crisis and the experience of the First World War were the main cause of the intensification of nationalist tendencies throughout Europe and of the fact that segregation based on ethnic, religious or any other affiliation became a legalised permanent feature. The social mood was represented by simple folks who were fed up with their ever-lasting existential issues and therefore willing to put the blame on someone else.
The drama Casimir and Caroline is set against the backdrop of Oktoberfest, the famous feast in the capital of Bavaria where people feast on sausages and indulge in beer until unbridled passions flare between them. tween the two lovers, which is anything but that due to economic and social circumstances, results in a break-up of the relationship that is impossible to prevent.
Kasimir und Karoline, 1932
Drama
Premiere: 19. September 2024
Performance length is 1 hour and 45 minutes and has no pause.
Creators
Translator
Borut Trekman
Authors of the adaptation
Nina Rajić Kranjac and Tibor Hrs Pandur
Director and author of the music selection
Nina Rajić Kranjac
Dramaturg and translator of additional texts
Tibor Hrs Pandur
Set designer
Urša Vidic
Costume designer
Marina Sremac
Composer and sound author
Branko Rožman
Language consultant
Martin Vrtačnik
Lighting designer
Andrej Koležnik
Sound designer
Sašo Dragaš
Assistant to director
Jaka Smerkolj Simoneti
Assistant to dramaturg
Tilen Oblak
Assistant to costume designer
Nina Čehovin
Actors
Casimir, only yesterday, a driver of the Austro-Daimler truck, Caroline’s fiancé
Primož Pirnat
Caroline, clerk, Casimir’s fiancée
Jana Zupančič
Caroline’s Mum
Karin Komljanec
Caroline’s Papa, retired engine driver
Gregor Gruden
Merkl Franz, Casimir’s close friend
Matej Puc
Erna, his partner, ex-con
Mojca Funkl
Angel, Casimir’s guardian angel
Tanja Dimitrievska
Eugen Schürzinger, fashion designer
Jernej Gašperin
Schürzinger’s retired Mum
Bernarda Oman
Konrad Rauch, senior trade commissioner, Schürzinger’s superior
Lotos Vincenc Šparovec
Werner Speer, provincial court judge, Rauch’s close friend
Uroš Smolej
Peter, Rauch’s son
Jure Rajšp as guest
Von Müller, Peter’s friend
Gaber K. Trseglav
Elli and Maria, underage Oktoberfest visitors
Lena Hribar Škrlec
and Diana Kolenc as guest
The two protagonists are a truck driver who was made redundant and his girlfriend, a simple lower division clerk, whom he suspects of wanting to leave him because she wants to relax and have fun despite his troubles.
A seemingly innocent quarrel between the two lovers, which is anything but that due to economic and social circumstances, results in a break-up of the relationship that is impossible to prevent.
