Luc Bondy & Arthur Schnitzler

Direct from the New York Metropolitan Opera House, La Scala, Milan and the Vienna Festival, superstar director Luc Bondy arrives at the Young Vic this spring.

Though he is one of the most distinguished directors in Europe, Bondy's UK productions are very rare. His last, Cruel & Tender at the Young Vic, was critically acclaimed, receiving a host of 5-star reviews.

After two Arthur Schnitzler productions at Vienna's Burg Theatre, Bondy is widely regarded as the finest director of this great Viennese playwright - one of theatre's first great explorers of the dark side of sexuality.

Notorious...scandalous...a visionary...

'Schnitzler was adored by scandalized audiences and admired by Freud for his fearless insights into the vanity, treachery and fragile hopelessness of sex.' New York Times

Schnitzler's work dominates our art and culture.

His most famous play La Ronde still creates scandal. It was most recently seen in an adaptation by David Hare: The Blue Room. Dream Story inspired Kubrick's mesmerising Eyes Wide Shut. 

Now Olivier Award winner David Harrower (Blackbird) adapts Schnitzler's famous sex tragedy, Liebelei, as Sweet Nothings...

A young man has an affair with a married woman. He is terrified her husband will challenge him to a duel and kill him. At a party, he flirts with a girl who believes for the first time she is truly loved.

Life seems full of joy. The doorbell rings. The husband enters the room.

"I write of love and death. What other subjects are there?" Arthur Schnitzler

Show information

★ ★ ★ ★
'An exquisite production by Luc Bondy... A miracle of staging... Impeccable performances.'
The Guardian

★ ★ ★ ★
'Brilliant and eerily stylish'
The Independent

★ ★ ★ ★
'Directed with cool, cruel elegance.'
Time Out 

★ ★ ★ ★
'Luc Bondy's handling is a masterclass. You'd hardly believe the movement and energy that the director generates.'
The Times 

★ ★ ★ ★
'Luc Bondy's fine, febrile production'
Financial Times 

★ ★ ★ ★
'Superb performances'
The Daily Telegraph

A sex tragedy from the author of La Ronde and 
Eyes Wide Shut.

Four young people risk everything in a tragic game 
of love, lust and adultery.

'A glorious staging acted by a quartet of hot young performers. European retro chic has swept into the Young Vic with a vengeance in this revival by the great Swiss director Luc Bondy.'
What's On Stage

'Luc Bondy's production invests the action with the qualities of dance: it's sometimes dreamy, sometimes painfully precise. The movement is sublimely achieved, and the relationships quickly seem plausible - tense in all the right places.'
Evening Standard

Performances

Monday - Saturday: 7:30pm
Saturday matinees: 2pm
Wednesday matinees (31 March & 07 April): 2pm

Running time: 2hrs 20 mins (including an interval)

Tickets

£22.50

A limited number of discounts are available for each performance. Early booking is advised.

Seating

Click here to find out more about the Young Vic's seating policy, and about what to expect when you arrive at the Young Vic.

Food & drink

The Cut Bar & Restaurant at the Young Vic serves an inspired mix of classic and original play-themed dishes create an exciting menu from fresh, free-range and organic ingredients. 

Visit The Cut Bar's website.

Tour information

Click on the dates below to visit the venue's website.

Royal & Derngate, Northampton
13 - 17 April 

Rose Theatre, Kingston
20 - 24 April

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry
27 April - 01 May

Wiener Festwochen, Austria
10 - 15 May

Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, Germany
18 - 22 May

Teatros del Canal, Madrid
26 - 30 May