Die Beiden aus Verona

Alternative title: Those Two from Verona
Synopsis: Gert Hofmann’s radio drama re-visits the story of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, examining the myth of everlasting love. Through divine intervention by Jupiter, the lovers in Hofmann’s version do not die, instead they are given the chance to grow old together. The plot begins with the old couple appearing in front of the celestial court because they managed to kill each other after 50 years of married life. Flashbacks to how it all started suggest that the quality of their love might be everlasting but not in everyday life. The couple gets a second chance to decide when they are transported back to the moment of their initial ‘Liebestod’ ... Produced by Hans-Dieter Schwarze with music by Friedrich Zehm.
Language: German (Standard)
Country: Germany
Medium: Radio
Transmission details: 24 May 1960 (Channel: Bayerischer Rundfunk)
Duration: 63 mins

History: Original transmission time unknown (10/2008).
Reviews: Source: ARD Radio drama archive (Hörspiel-Archiv) at http://www.ard.de/radio/hoerspiel-lesung/hoerspielarchiv; German radio database HörDat at www.hoerdat.de (accessed 10/2008); Hans Georg Schede, Gert Hofmann: Werkmonographie (Würzburg: Könighshausen & Neumann, 1999), p. 36-39.

British Universities Film & Video Council