Phyllis Stone vs Claire Zachanassian

Propaganda (Click names for full propaganda pages)

Phyllis Stone: I can’t remember if they have kids but there’s something about the tired, jaded wife who’s still sexy and so cynical that is just irresistible. That and her chemistry with Ben is so witty and snarky

Claire Zachanassian: She’s uhh not. A parent. It’s a sore spot shh. She was about to be though, there’s trauma involved, she counts. Also please look up pictures of her she is UNHINGED she is SEXY she wants that guy DEAD I’m swooning as we speak

Hier war’s, man sieht unser Herz noch am Baum. Es ist verblasst und zerbrochen der  T r a u m .

DER BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME NJSNSJWNKSNSKW yes the musical starring Pia Douwes is great BUT the 1959 TV film???

Chef snog. It's brilliant. Hanging by the thread. Very on the edge. You just can't escape. I laughed so much when I read the play since it's hilarious but this film?? yes I did laugh but like, tragically. It's so GOOD.

They have like, 10 actors and the bare minimum set for the whole 2 hours and they make it WORK. It's simple, affective, practical, very German.

It's on youtube. For those who doesn't speak german then I encourage you to read the english version of the play first. Don't worry you will still be emraptured by the film

Does anyone else daydream about becoming some kind of crazy billionaire celebrity á la Claire Zachanassian specifically so you can return to your home country and make everyone see musicals as a valid art form just through Sheer Force Of Cash or are y'all normal

CLAIRE ZACHANASSIAN: I will tell you the condition. I will give you a billion, and with that billion I will buy myself justice. MAYOR: What exactly do you mean by that, Madam? CLAIRE ZACHANASSIAN: I mean what I said. MAYOR: But justice can’t be bought! CLAIRE ZACHANASSIAN: Everything can be bought.

HELLO??????? I'm just...aghhhh...Claire you are literally the definition of girlboss, you are literally fucking insane I want to be you when I grow up, I want to watch you drive everyone else into madness as you SIT ON YOUR HIGH THRONE AND LET THEM DESCEND INTO HELL. MY ANTI-CHRIST TROPE QUEEN

it's okay, i'm normal 1000% normal

Legendary Chita Rivera creator of Anita in West Side Story, Rosie in Bye Bye Birdie, Velma Kelly in Chicago, Anna in The Rink, Aurora/Spider Woman in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Liliane La Fleur in Nine (2003 revival) and Claire Zachanassian in The Visit on Broadway

I understood female rage in grade 10 when I defended Claire Zachanassian infront of my whole class

Spielbühne Lingen: "Der Besuch der alten Dame"

#Spielbühne #Lingen präsentiert am kommenden Wochenende im Theater an der Wilhelmshöhe den Klassiker von Friedrich Dürrenmatt: "Der Besuch der alten Dame". Sa/so 9./10. März, 20 Uhr im #Theater_An_Der_Wilhelmshöhe

Der Besuch der alten Dame Spielbühne Lingen eV Lingen (Ems) – Theater an der Wilhelmshöhe, Willy-Brandt-Ring 44 Samstag, 9. März 2024 – 20 Uhr Sonntag, 10. März 2024 – 20 Uhr Eintritt: 15 Euro (online via vibus erhältllich) Die Handlung: Unter dem Vorwand, die Stadt ihrer Kindheit besuchen zu wollen, kehrt Claire Zachanassian nach Jahrzehnten in das kleine Örtchen Güllen zurück. Sie ist…

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SO was at a workshop with Pia last weekend and she confirmed that she will not be playing Claire in Besuch in Tecklenburg this summer, contrary to the current cast posting. They haven’t announced the new cast yet but if anyone was curious this was confirmed by Pia herself.

Pythio vs Claire Zachanassian

Propaganda (Click names for full propaganda pages and more actors)

Pythio: They're a nonbinary oracle with killer outfits and a gorgeous voice and so much confidence. They are one of the main driving forces in moving the plot forward and helping out the other characters. They have a daughter, so they are a parent, but they had to leave that daughter behind because their husband would not accept their nonbinary identity - they do meet their daughter again later, though.

Claire Zachanassian: She's uhh not. A parent. It's a sore spot shh. She was about to be though, there's trauma involved, she counts. Also please look up pictures of her she is UNHINGED she is SEXY she wants that guy DEAD I'm swooning as we speak

Claire Zachanassian showing up with a coffin has big "call an ambulance, call an ambulance - but not for me!" energy

“I’m thinking how I’ve been in hell since the day you left.” 
“And I left and became hell itself.”

» The Visit, Or the Old Lady Comes to Call (2020), National Theatre

Der Besuch der alten Dame

Vienna, Austria (April 26, 2014)

Cast: Pia Douwes (Claire Zachanassian), Uwe Kröger (Alfred Ill), Ethan Freeman (Klaus Brandstetter), Masha Karell (Mathilde Ill), Hans Neblung (Matthias Richter/Burgermeister), Norbert Lamla (Gerhard Lang/Polizist), Gunter Sonneson (Johannes Reitenberg/Pfarrer), Shari Lynn Stewen (Junge Claire), Riccardo Greco (Junger Alfred), Gernot Romic (Junger Gerhard)

Translation Team: Video Source: Rumpel Script/Libretto: Sinclair Translator: firestorm717 Editor: obsessedwithmusicals Timer: firestorm717

Note: See this post for details. To avoid another DMCA takedown, I have made this video unlisted on Youtube. Please only share the link privately, and check out my website for more musical translations!

claire zachanassian, having divorced her 7th husband: guess who's getting moby dick no more lmao byeeeee

Do u have any stories centred around revenge that youd reccomend?

yes actually

one of my favorite books is a german play called the visit. it’s about an old rich lady who returns to her home town to settle some scores with the citizens of this town in general as well as with one specific jerk. in german the play’s title actually is “the visit of the old lady” - the old lady being both the main character of the story and a metaphor for merciless justice. i love this book very much bcs unlike most revenge stories that focus more on the vengeful main character and aim at getting across the moral about how revenge won’t make you happy, this one focuses more on the culprits and the question of whether they deserve what they got. it’s succinct, scathing and socio-critical. it has also been adapted into a musical i love to bits which is probably irrelevant for you unless you speak german but if you want you can watch the trailer to get the general feel of the story and of how Dramatic and Awesome the main character claire is.

another favorite book is gentlemen & players by joanne harris. it’s a double pov dark academia-esque mystery thriller that takes place at an elite school for boys. one pov is an old teacher who has been working there for many years, the other one is a young new teacher who wants to raze this establishment to the ground and salt the earth. who is this person? why such a vendetta? i read this book not long after the secret history which is a hard act to follow but i wasn’t disappointed in the least. in fact, it has probably the best plot twist i’ve ever seen. i think it deserves more attention so pick it up and buddy read it with me.

the lies of locke lamora has a very intricate plot with a shit ton of subplots but one of them (which grows to be the main plot towards the end of the book) is about revenge. it’s set in the city inspired by renaissance venice and it’s about a lovable rascal called locke lamora and his crew of thieves who get involved in a gang war. multiple instances of revenge happen, calling for more revenge in turn and thus fueling a never-ending cycle of revenge. you know how gang wars are. also it has a trope where antagonists have to work together against a common enemy. all in all, it’s a very fun book and one of the few i read this year that i actually rated five stars. the audiobook narrator is a genius so i recommend listening to that.

the count of monte cristo is probably the most famous book about revenge but it’s a typical classic in that it has more than 1k pages and so it’s probably for a limited readership of people with enough patience for some usual 19th century phrase-mongering. i enjoyed this book very much when i was 15 or so but now i doubt that my attention span could handle it. the plot centers around a man who is wrongly imprisoned for 14 years and whose life goal then becomes to take the most elaborate revenge on the three dudes who were responsible (one of whom was his best friend).

the merchant of venice is another one that needs no introduction i think. it’s one of my favorite shakespeare plays exactly bcs it centers around revenge, however i must admit that i first liked it only after watching a german musical based on it which seems to be the trend with me haha. anyway, in the play you aren’t supposed to root for shylock bcs his demands are a bit extreme but also bcs of antisemitism, but the musical makes him the main character instead of an anti-hero. the ending is still largely the same, but bcs this version of the story is about shylock the aftertaste it leaves is all the more sour. also they made antonio gay for bassanio which has no bearing on the plot whatsoever but also is what shakespeare whould’ve wanted.

le roi s'amuse is (once again) a play about an old ugly court jester whose beloved daughter the king falls in love with and kidnaps, which makes the jester crave revenge but what can he, a mere servant, do against The King? the play is one of victor hugo’s lesser known works but it has been adapted into a famous opera - giuseppe verdi’s rigoletto.

depending on how you look at it, arthur miller’s the crucible is also about revenge - of a specific unhinged woman against a specific man but also of many disenfranchised young women against the patriarchal status-quo. the play wants you to root for john proctor which is alright but if you try rooting for abigail and her gal pals you get a different but very thrilling kind of fun. 

in a similar vein, gone girl is about a woman’s revenge against a man who wronged her but the story isn’t black and white and you get to choose who you think is the actual victim and who deserves punishment. i’d say it’s a modern classic by now and for good reasons bcs amy dunne stands in the proud tradition of such unhinged vengeful morally grey female icons as clytemnestra and medea.

so this list consists mostly of classics bcs they’re kinda my speciality but i hope you can still find something of interest. if you know some good contemporary books that center around revenge, i’d be grateful for the recs :)