Gabriel oder Gabrielle - Theater Akzent - Wien - 2027

Theater Akzent, Wien

Out of pure political calculation—to prevent the family inheritance from falling into the hands of her hated grandnephew Astolphe—a young woman is raised as a man in her grandfather’s grotesque charade. Gabriel grows up caught between freedom and deception, between her own self and the expectations of others. When Gabriel/le discovers love, a double life begins, along with the fight for the right to self-determination: “My soul has no gender!” Who has the right—or assumes the power—to determine how we live? What happens when societal role models contradict one’s true nature? How much courage does it take to live one’s own identity? In her dialogic novel, George Sand poses visionary questions that lead us straight into our present day. Inspired by her own experiences, Sand’s story about identity and self-determination bears autobiographical traits, explores gender roles, and critiques the social constraints of the era.

Actress Mercedes Echerer and pianist Maria Radutu weave this material into a dialogue between literature and music, between eras and worlds. Radutu’s selected music—featuring composers such as Schumann, Hensel, Ustvoskaya, Chopin, and Glass—creates a resonant space for Echerer’s voice, which brings this tragic adventure from the Romantic era into our own time.

Amartine Aurore Lucile Dupin de Francueil (1804–1876) became known under the pseudonym Georg
Sand. Although she herself had been raised strictly, this clever rebel of her time spent six months a year writing in Paris, far from her husband and children; she wore men’s clothing and spent many evenings smoking cigars in literary circles. Sand later separated from her husband—at a time when there were still no legal means of divorce—and had affairs with both men and women.
Gabriel was first translated into German in 2021.