About the work
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's early comedy in three acts was composed in 1768/69 during his Leipzig student years and is among the oldest surviving works of the later literary giant. The comedy in alexandrine verse was not premiered until 1805 in Weimar and combines French comic tradition with a surprisingly modern view of human weakness.
Plot
In a shabby inn, four characters meet in a single night — the landlord Söller, his daughter Sophie, her frustrated husband, and a travelling guest named Alcest, Sophie's old love. During the night Söller breaks into Alcest's room to rob him. Sophie also enters the room to speak with Alcest. Her husband overhears the scene out of jealousy. By morning everyone is morally compromised by their nocturnal transgressions — the title's accomplices. None can accuse the others; a comic reconciliation through mutual silence closes the play.
Cultural significance
Die Mitschuldigen is Goethe's wittiest and least pathos-laden comedy and already shows the sharp observational skill of the later novelist. The play was initially rejected in 1769 as unplayable and was only performed through Schiller's urging. Thomas Langhoff at the Berliner Ensemble and Andrea Breth have established the work in contemporary repertoire; its comedy of mutual silence remains surprisingly modern.