Zeitstillstand (orig. Time Stands Still)

Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies has had productions in German-speaking Europe, following its successful run on Broadway, but it has never been performed in Liechtenstein, my second home.

After looking for suitable material for the specific Liechtenstein audience, I landed on Time Stands Still, as it joins very personal issues with overarching societal ones.

Successful photojournalist Sarah Goodwin returns from a war zone, having narrowly survived a bomb attack. Her boyfriend James Dodd, a war reporter, had to return sooner, as he was heavily traumatized after witnessing a bloody attack. Both want to heal, but then what?

Back to work i.e., off to cover the next crisis, of which there is no lack? Or is enough enough, and have they earned the right to simple comfort, safety, and happiness at home?

Into that mix enters Richard Ehrlich, Sarah’s and James’ close friend and editor, with his young girlfriend Mandy Bloom. What on earth does he want with her?!    Richard also has seen enough, has had enough. He rejoices in Mandy’s youthful joie de vivre, is looking forward to their baby, and is done with intellectual rigor.

And Mandy, the dark horse in this play, is the one person who poses the uncomfortable questions. What good are you actually doing out there, bringing the horrors to our shores? What am I, one individual, supposed to do about it? You are not HELPING anyone, you are just standing there taking pictures and writing about it. And you are just as much part of the market forces as the writer covering the latest princess wedding.

Liechtenstein is a tiny country, a very wealthy country, with an educated, suburban populace. The four characters are not very far away from “normal” people with “normal” issues and questions about life. “How am I supposed to live?” “What is my responsibility as a person in a rich, peaceful country toward the ugliness most fellow humans have to endure?”

TST doesn’t answer this question - that would be out of character for an MT production - but it raises it, and hopes to inspire good dialogue and individual revelations. Perhaps a few of us will watch the news differently.

PERFORMANCES:
TAK Theater Liechtenstein, October 18 & 22, 2025, November 20th, 2025, December 3rd, 2025.  

CAST
Sarah Goodwin - Franziska Geyer
James Dodd - Georg Melich
Richard Ehrlich - Oliver Reinhard
Mandy Bloom - Jessica Matzig

CREATIVE TEAM
Direction - Katrin Hilbe +
Production Design - Alexander Grüner
Lighting Design - Fenna von Hirschheydt
Sound Design - Yves Hüsler
Assistant Director -  Susanne Oberndorfer
Assistant Production Design - Carolyn Pflüger
Photography - Ilja Mess

+ member of SDC