The Nibelungs

Fighting, conquering, killing – and, if time allows, courting – are all acceptable occupations for a hero. But we learn much less about what the women in question think about being sold to the highest bidder for political gain, if they are not being considered part of the spoils of war. Thomas Birkmeir’s youth theater version of the greatest of all German epics gives a strong voice to Kriemhild and Brünnhilde – which does not seem to change much about their intended destiny. Kriemhild’s and Brünhilde’s yet-unborn sons watch and comment on the well-known turn of events: Siegfried, the Dragonslayer, marries Kriemhild and uses dirty tricks to help his brother-in-law Gunter gain not only Brünnhilde’s hand in marriage, but also access to her bed, before Siegfried himself is cowardly assassinated by Gunter. Murder is followed by murder, as Kriemhild and Brünnhilde are not about to stand for this betrayal. It ends in a furious showdown at a banquet in the palace of Etzel, king of the Huns and Kriemhild’s new husband, and only the women survive, determined to choose their own fate from here on.