A New World Theatre Club production.
Written by J. W. Goethe.
Translated by Edward Seymour.
Directed by John Brigg.

Performed 12th to 15 November 2008 at the Limpertsberg Theatre Space, Luxembourg.

The Natural Daughter was written in 1803 as the third in a sequence of verse plays by Johann Goethe on the theme of exile, the individual and society. Edward Seymour has retranslated the verse into 21st century English.

‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ – the words that ushered in the age of revolution – unleashed a tsunami of violence and turmoil, first in America and then in France, whose effects were felt throughout the world. This conflict between noble ideals and the suffering that they can cause is at the heart of J. W. Goethe’s third classical play, The Natural Daughter.

As part of its 40th Anniversary celebrations, and under the patronage of the British Ambassador to Luxembourg, the New World Theatre Club presented an English-language adaptation of the play.

This production is based on a new translation by Edward Seymour of Die natürliche Tochter, first performed in Weimar in 1803. Inspired by the memoirs of Stéphanie de Bourbon-Conti, a charismatic figure who toured Germany after the French Revolution and claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of the French king’s brother, the play uses her story to examine the impact of extraordinary events on ordinary people’s lives.

The Natural Daughter draws on both French and English dramatic traditions. It focuses on the father-daughter relationship and sounds echoes from Goethe ’s earlier play Iphigenia but also from The Tempest and The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare, whose works Goethe greatly admired. In this imaginative production directed by John Brigg, a veteran of many productions in Luxembourg over the years, an international cast brings to life a wide range of well-rounded characters.