Marius von Mayenburg’s The Stone is a tale of reverberations through 60 years of German history.

1934 – A young couple buy the house from a Jewish family, and so the myth begins
1953 – The couple’s daughter discovers the stone
1973 – The family return to claim what is rightfully theirs
1993 – The house is back in their possession

As a house passes from owner to owner, and from generation to generation, the secrets buried in the garden and seeping from the walls reveal themselves.

German playwright, translator and dramaturg, von Mayenburg made his Royal Court debut in 2007, when his play about the current obsession with physical appearance The Ugly One was staged in the Jerwood Theatre Upstairs. It was so successful that is was revived as part of the Royal Court’s Upstairs Downstairs season in 2008. His other plays include The Cold Child, Eldorado and new piece The Stone.

Royal Court Associate Director Ramin Gray, who previously directed The Ugly One, directs The Stones. Among his other credits are The Arsonists, Motortown and Woman And Scarecrow.

The Stone plays at the Royal Court Jerwood Theatre Downstairs as part of Off The Wall, as season of new plays about Germany marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Also included in the season are Mark Ravenhill’s Over There and a series of readings of new plays by German writers.

For more about The Stone at the Royal Court, read the First Night Feature.