The Most Dangerous Toy

Nietzsche meets Lou Salomé

Season 2012

When Nietzsche meets Lou Salomé, he feels he has found 'a voice, for which I have waited and waited since childhood'. One year later, he has retreated to a remote mountain village, madly scribbling Thus Spake Zarathustra. And advising men to take a whip, when they go to women. Working exclusively from original texts, Playades Theatre Company explores what happened in that seminal year of 1882: philosophy versus reality, society versus individual fulfillment, man versus woman - and the hunger for life and knowledge that surmounts all contradictions.

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Production Information

Season: 2012
Theme: Philosophy, gender dynamics, and intellectual history
Historical Context: The seminal year of 1882 in Nietzsche's life
Source Material: Working exclusively from original texts

Cast & Crew

Cast

Lou von Salomé: Maria Alexe
Friedrich Nietzsche: Jamie Laird

Creative Team

Direction: Eva Mann
Assistant Director: Cindy-Jane Armbruster
Musician: Anna Stefanic

Critical Reception

★★★★
a most engaging play
Charlotte Mortimer-Talman — Three Weeks

very brave
challenging and thought-provoking material
Bill Dunlop — EdinburghGuide.com

interesting, cleverly staged and well performed
a successful production ... plenty of meaty ideas to sink your teeth into
Chris Hislop — One Stop Arts

she could give him as good as he gave
the two iconic figures clash and throw light on the grand battles at the heart of civilisation
Gareth Vile — The Vile Blog

Production Photos

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