About the work
"Der erste fiese Typ" is a stage adaptation of the debut novel of the same name ("The First Bad Man", 2015) by the American artist and author Miranda July. The material has been staged at several German-language theatres – including the Münchner Kammerspiele and Schauspielhaus Zürich (directed by Christopher Rüping) and as a solo at the Deutsches Theater Berlin (directed by Sarah Kurze, with Maren Eggert). At its centre is the lonely, eccentric Cheryl, whose strictly ordered life is thrown into disarray by the intrusion of a young woman.
Plot
Cheryl is a middle-aged woman of fixed rituals, peculiar private theories and a secret longing. Her carefully controlled existence is upended when Clee – the brash young daughter of her employers – moves in with her. Out of friction, provocation and physical confrontation an increasingly intimate, highly unusual relationship develops between the two women. What begins as an imposition gradually tips into closeness, desire and finally a surprising form of care and motherhood. The productions translate July's deadpan, off-kilter yet tender tone into an evening about loneliness, longing and the fractures in one's own self-control.
Cultural significance
Miranda July is regarded as an idiosyncratic voice in contemporary American art, spanning literature, film and performance; her debut novel was internationally acclaimed. The stage adaptations show how well July's exploration of intimacy, shame and desire suits the theatre – often as a virtuoso vehicle for actresses (solo or duo). "Der erste fiese Typ" exemplifies a contemporary theatre that does not merely illustrate novelistic material but turns its psychological precision and singular humour into performance.