Department of English                               Gymnasium Steglitz Berlin

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Ray Bradbury´s "Fahrenheit 451"
performed by TNT Theatre Britain and the American Drama Group Europe
at Akademie der Künste, Feb 6th, 2008

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The book was brought to the stage by TNT theatre and the American Drama Group Europe directed by Paul Stebbings. We thank the ADG Europe for allowing us to publish the stage photos on our webside.

How did the class enjoy the performance?

Here are some reactions.

  Table of Contents

Only four actors captivated their audience perfectly

Originally "Fahrenheit 451" is the title of a science fiction novel written by Ray Bradbury in 1953. A few years after its publication it was picturized and another film project is being planned by the studio Warner Bros. involving top film stars like Tom Hanks or Mel Gibson. Now the American Drama Group Europe have also taken interest in the story and brought it to the stage under the direction of Paul Stebbings.  

On the 6^th of February our English class 12^th grade attended the performance of this production at the Academy of Arts Berlin.

The story of the play presents a fictitious future with a totalitarian society, in which the reading of books is strictly banned and anyone defying this law is arrested and punished. Instead of books the people get entertained only by radio and an interacting form of TV. In this world a man called Guy Montag is a fireman with the duty to set books on fire. After meeting the strange girl Clarisse and the former English professor Faber though, Montag gradually doubts the accurateness and sense of the world he has been taught to deem best and develops increasing disgust towards it. He begins to resist the regime, until he is persecuted himself …

I quite looked forward to our visit of the performance and was not disappointed. The actors proved to have very good acting skills. That enabled the audience to be captivated by the events happening on the stage all the time. But some actions appeared somewhat laughable, because they were only provided with meagre equipment. For example, as a hoover they used  a hose with which the actress ran over the floor. This tiny insufficiency was compensated by the great usage of acoustic gadgets however. Apart from the sometimes unnerving music the production brought sounds and parts of conversation very accurately into the play to support the sequences. Being able to do this requires a fair sense of timing, which the all actors showed well enough.

What I found especially impressive was the shortness of the cast. The actors consisted of altogether four people. They had divided the roles in the play into four parts of which they each acted out one. So the actors were all demanded to be able to slip into different roles in short intervals. That did not seem to be a problem, however. All four actors portrayed their characters very convincingly, no matter how different they were: The stage seemed to be always crowded and spirited.

The dramatic performance and the setting were impressive

The play "Fahrenheit 451"  is based on the dystopian science fiction novel by Ray Bradbury and takes place in America, where a totalitarian system rules in the future. The people who live there should be non-intellectual. The only entertainment are in-ear radios or affecting television shows. The government´s primary concern is burning books and punishing people who offend against their orders by reading or owning books. Therefore firemen are employed to implement these rules and to maintain the order. The protagonist Guy Montag is a fireman and never questions his job and actions until he meets a critical girl called Clarisse McCallen who causes him to think about his life. When a woman is burned who objects to the incineration of her books and Clarisse is killed in a strange car accident, Guy Montag begins to despise his wife and his life. He starts to be taught in literature by the former English professor Faber. But when his captain called Beatty convicts him of owning books, he kills him and flees to vagabonds in the countryside who memorize books. At the moment when he joins them bombers fly over the city and drop nuclear bombs. After this attack a new society must be built, but many people doubt if the new society will not make the same mistakes.

This novel was published as a film and it is still performed as a theatre play today. I saw the performance of "Fahrenheit 451" in the Academy of Arts in Berlin and I think it is transposed rather well. The plot does not actually deviate from the story of the novel. Moreover it was very fascinating that only four actors performed every character of the play. As soon as they disappeared off the stage they had to change their costumes at once. So they were very flexible and in my opinion, it is a quite demanding performance permanently having to present yourself  in another role. I personally found the actor of Captain Beatty and professor Faber especially fascinating, because his performance of these completely different characters was very convincing. Apart from the dramatic art the setting was impressive, because there were only a cupboard with four variable doors, a stool and sometimes a big box which was used as bed or coach. So I think they made the best of these things, because they created a lot of imaginable settings. Moreover the actors were scene-shifters at the same time. The time in which the play was presented (90 minutes), was also completely sufficient. The only thing I disliked was the sound music, particularly the sound music when Clarisse stepped on the stage. It sounded to me a little bit like hippie or meditation music.

The minimum of props amazed me

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is a criticism of totalitarian state systems, in which men live as controlled marionettes without any own will. The utopian story takes place in a future time and is placed of America, where the prohibition of all books has created a society of completely controlled and guided human beings. Books are forbidden, the alternative entertainment consists of television which is manipulated by the heads of the state.

Instead of fighting against fire, the fire brigade burns all books with a 451 Fahrenheit hot kerosene solution. The main character, the fireman Guy Montag, begins to be in doubt about the existing system and becomes more and more anarchistic, encouraged by a neighbouring girl, the 17-year-old Clarisse. One day, instead of doing his job, which is destroying the books, he steals them and begins to read. His boss, Captain Bealty, is presuming what is going on, but he does not succeed in stopping him from saving books.

With the help of his friend Faber, an ancient university teacher of literature, he begins to act in the underground movement. After his wife Mildred, from whom he has been estranged for a long time, denounces him at the fire brigade, he kills his boss Beatly and escapes from the town which is menaced by an atomic war.

The plainness of the staging fascinated me, the four performers coped with the task of changing various parts in the way of flying splice. Furthermore the director decorated the scene by dint of metallic boxes, which, for example, were used as cars or beds. The sound and music compilation as well as the lightning effects I found inspiring. (V.K., Feb 2008)

An unusual story with exciting special effects

The play „Fahrenheit 451“ by Ray Bradbury takes place in the America of the future where possessing or reading books is prosecuted and life is dominated by the multimedia. The play deals with the metamorphosis of the protagonist Guy Montag who works as a fireman, which means that he has to destroy books and the people owning them. During the play he discovers his interest and admiration for books and their content and in the end he flees the society because he is prosecuted for killing the fire chief while defending his books. He starts living as an outcast in the countryside together with people that remember whole books and watches his city being destroyed in a nuclear war.

We watched the play in the AdK in Berlin on Wednesday, the 6^th of February. The cast consisted of two men and two women that divided the four main characters and the six smaller roles amongst them. In my opinion the actors did a great job by changing their roles so quickly and by representing so many different characters in a very convincing way.

The stage setting was bleak and poorly furnished as it only consisted of two wardrobes used as doors to symbolize houses or as beds. This reflected and supported the intentions of the author to show us the atmosphere of the future society that he wanted to draw in the play. The special effects, with which they were able to produce the play with nearly nothing, were really unusual.  The firemen, for example, drove a fire truck symbolized by two white and red lamps and there was also a cyber dog only symbolized by two blue lamps. Although these two elements were characterized just by their essential basics, everyone knew what was meant.

Other elements that were crucial for creating the bleak atmosphere of the play were the sounds and the light. The sound effects reminded me of film music as fitting sounds supported the plot at different stages of the play. Dimmed light or darkness on the other hand provided the basis for elements like the fire truck or the cyber dog to have their effect on the audience.

The simplicity emphasized the omnipresent menace

“Fahrenheit 451”, written by Ray Bradbury in 1953, is a science-fiction story concerning the problem of a world getting faster and shallower all the time. It does not criticize censorship as one may think, according to the author. In this future the reading and owning of books is forbidden by law and is punished by “Firemen”, who do not extinguish fires but light up all books and the houses in which they are found. In exchange for that there is a big TV show satisfying the simplest needs of the this “pleasure society”. The main protagonist a firemen called Guy Montag, who starts to doubt the system he is living in after meeting a young and “lazy” (that’s how she describes herself) girl called Clarisse. Other important roles appearing in the play are Montag’s wife, his boss and Montag’s ally during his crisis: one of the last academics.

Perhaps you would think differently about the play’s implementation, if you read the book – I did not, and I liked it. All roles mentioned above plus some of Montag’s colleagues, some other functionaries of the state and some victims of the firemen, are all played by the same four actors. The setting and the props are not stunning either: Two big and two smaller boxes representing beds, doors, benches or closets and a white wall illuminated in different colours; six torches of three different colours, a spotlight, some books and a pillow – that’s all! But this simplicity is what is fascinating and amazing just as it emphasises the coldness and omnipresent menace which must emanate from the government. And, to my surprise, there were several funny situations.

Creativity and interactions were admirable

I liked the play and the way it was performed. Also the actors were very good. They were only four people, but you didn’t notice that. You thought there were more actors on the stage. There was not a big scenery on the stage either, but they used simple things and you understood exactly what the meaning was. For example, they used just a steering wheel and four lamps and the audience knew that it was a fire engine. Doors and beds were only boxes. But it was good, so you understood the scenery. and could also concentrate enough on the play.

There were interactions with the audience, too. At the beginning one actor was running through the auditorium onto the stage. So you were immediately involved in the acting of the play. At another time some visitors got some water on their heads. That was a funny idea.

All in all I found this performance of the play really good and I admire the effort of the actors. They all played their many characters very convincingly. Above all Mrs. Montag with her enthusiasm for the world she was living in. (S.C., Feb 2008)

The versatility of actors and props was convincing

Recently I attended the theatre performance of “Fahrenheit 451” in the “Akademie der Künste” in Berlin. Altogether it was a very interesting show.
“Fahrenheit 451” was published in the year 1953 as a novel by Ray Bradbury. The story takes place in a world, in which it is not allowed to be the owner of a book. The citizen is entertained the whole day by radio or television and it is not intended for peopele to think independently and have a social life. The fire department has the task to find all remaining books and burn them. One day the main character, the fireman Guy Montag begins to read in a book which he has rescued. As a result he is more and more fascinated by books and his mind undergoes a change.
He sees the absurdness of his job and meets a former university professor and the teenager Clarisse, who show him this new side of life. He removes himself completely from his present life and wants to discover the almost forgotten world of great literature with a little group of resistance fighters, who learn books by heart, in order that they will not fall into oblivion.

It is remarkable to see the many symbolic elements in the whole story. Among others, there is the salamander on the shirts of the firemen, because this is an animal which can live amidst the danger of fire. The title is also symbolic. Fahrenheit 451 marks the temperature at which paper begins to burn. (By the way Michael Moore was inspired by this in his film Fahrenheit 9/11: According to his interpretaion it marks the temperature at which freedom burns.)

The performance of ninety minutes is very entertaining. But it seemed that not everybody in the audience, which was only composed of students, was fascinated the whole time. I personally was fascinated by Bradbury’s idea and his approach to think about individuality and totalitarianism.
Especially the stage setting was interesting. The only elements were two walkable cabinets and two boxes, which were all-purpose props on stage, and another remarkable fact: there were only four actors and they had to switch their roles many times. Every character understood the meaning and theme of the script, and expressed it well.
The theatre itself is not a very glamorous building, but just right for this community theatre and the entrance fee of 9€ for students was acceptable. All in all you can say, it was a nice performance, which, with a small equipment, managed to present a relatively big show. (V.B., Feb 2008)

Partially insufficient performance and special effects

“Fahrenheit 451” written by Ray Bradbury deals with a future vision of manipulation of people. All books are forbidden and individuality does not have any chance to arise. People are only entertained by in-ear radio and an interactive form of television. In this story the fire brigade does not eliminate fire, but burns books.
The protagonist Guy Montag is such a fireman and begins to discover his love for books after some conversations with his neighbour Clarisse McClellan. Then his wife denunciates him and he has to abscond.

The theatre show of “Akademie der Künste” tries to realize this story on the stage. But this interpretation of “Fahrenheit 451” does not really make it. So when trying to grasp the story the audience fails. Neither the representation of the roles nor the usage of lighting and music deliver a satisfactory result.
Clarisse McClellan’s actress exaggerates and expresses too much. Her tragic and important relevance does not become clear. Only the portrayals of the mysterious mentor Faber and Montag’s strict boss Beatty work very well. The naivety and foolishness of Montag’s wife is also personated very well. At first the spectator smiles, but soon after he registers her sad situation.

The link of the music and special effects with the story seems to be difficult for the producer. The result is very artificial and nearly brummagem. The producer was keen to intensify the impression of the story and the emotions of the protagonists for the spectator: Calm scenes are underlined with a green background and hectic scenes with a red background. But not only altogether the lighting is too dark, also the musical choice deserves some critical comment. For the most part it has a rather drowsy effect on the spectator: The fascinating scene of the importance of books (Montag, McClellan) bores the audience. Apart from that the other noises are too loud and the spectator does not exactly know if he hears a human or a hoover. The idea of good background music is wasted. Only fractionally scenes are as eerie and threatening as intended. The presentment of the interactive form of television is a very good idea, but also in this case the producer overacts, because a grave situation is pulled into an absurd position.

In conclusion it must be said that a drama group of four people makes an attempt with only insufficiently performed use of techniques and only partially adequate elaboration of the characters of the play to create a new interpretation of “Fahrenheit 451”. Sadly the love for detail is missing, there could have been more effort for the fire – the most important symbol of the play. (N.B., Feb 2008)

Good production of a difficult topic

A difficult topic, only four actors and simple properties: Not really good prerequisites for a successful performance. So how is the American Drama Group Europe able to transmit the tragedy of this story “Fahrenheit 451” in such a convincing way? You have to look closer to find the answers.
The story itself is really interesting and first of all quite topical. It is about a state in which it is not allowed to read or even to have books. The only allowed medium is the television, of course completely controlled by the system and especially by the “firemen”, whose job it is to burn the books they find. But one of these firemen, Guy Montag, realises the cruelty and the absurdity of the system. He begins to think independently and to fight. This is also an important topic today, where freedom of the press is not guaranteed everywhere and where many people want to watch TV the whole day instead of reading books.
But it is not only the story that makes the play interesting. It is supported by a very good production. In the scenes that take place in the streets the stage is nearly empty and grey, so you can almost feel the dreariness that weighs on the city. The music in these scenes is also depressive. It is a big contrast to the life inside the houses. Here the colours are pink and orange like on the TV screen. Even the people who live there wear shrill colours. It shows the audience really well how the people in that future world accept the life they are meant to live. They live in a bizarre world, like the people on TV they watch every day.
The way the actors depict cars and things like that is also fascinating. Although they only use four lamps and a chair it is really authentic. Anyway the actors know how to play their roles. Most of them have to play two characters, but that was not confusing or disturbing at all.
All in all they showed us how to transmit important emotions etc. with only a few means. Although it was not a performance in the classic way of theatre, it was a good one with a very topical meaning. (L.S., Feb 2008)

Some parts were slightly boring or annoying

I recently attended the theatre production of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” at the “Akademie der Künste” in Berlin. The play was directed by Paul Stebbings and to my delight all the actors of the “TNT Theatre Britain” were from Great Britain or the USA.
The title of the novel and the play can be explained by the fact that the number "451" refers to the temperature in Fahrenheit at which a book or paper begins to burn. “Fahrenheit 451”, published in 1953, was Bradbury’s first major novel. It presents a future in which all books are restricted, individuals are anti-social and critical thought is suppressed. Members of the society focus only on entertainment, immediate gratification and speeding through life. The story of the play centres on a young fireman, Guy Montag, who burns books in a futuristic American city. In his world, firemen start fires rather than putting them out. At first, Montag takes pleasure in his profession as a fireman, burning illegally owned books and the homes of their owners. However, Montag soon begins to question the sense of his profession and, in turn, his life. His eyes are finally opened when a young girl tells him of a time when books were legal and people did not live in fear. This newfound curiosity gets Montag into trouble when he takes an interest in reading the books which he is supposed to burn. But due to fascination he begins stealing books marked for destruction and meets a professor who agrees to educate him. When his pilfering is discovered, he must run for his life.

I personally was fascinated by Bradbury’s idea and his approach to think about the past and the future concerning individualism and totalitarianism. On the one hand the story may refer to the book-burnings in Nazi Germany starting in 1933, on the other hand “Fahrenheit 451” is full of warnings of where society could be heading for if it is not careful. However, these predictions are still remarkably exaggerated, when contrasted with today's society. Modern media are able to bring important issues to the public's attention, while the media in “Fahrenheit 451” only brings the entertaining issues to the citizens. Nevertheless, I think this is an important topic, which gives one food for thought.

But it seemed that not everyone in the audience was fascinated by the ninety-minute performance. This might have been because of the staging or just because of a lack of interest. The music and the scenery were simple and of minimal standard, which can be either a good or a negative point. It was interesting to see how the four actors managed to use only two walkable cupboards and some other props to create different places and atmospheres. They also managed to adapt to many different roles which I think was a good effort.
Overall it was a nice performance, but I am not sure if I would recommend it to a friend, as some parts of the play like the blue dog and the music were a bit boring or just annoying, and the admission charge of 9€ for students was not cheap. (Li.S., Feb 2008)