About the work
Das letzte Einhorn is the stage adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's 1968 fantasy novel "The Last Unicorn." The poetic fairy tale tells of a unicorn that learns it may be the last of its kind and sets out to find its vanished fellows. Beagle's novel combines the form of the classic fairy tale with delicate irony, melancholy wisdom and a modern awareness of transience. In German-speaking countries the material gained added popularity through the 1982 animated film. On stage the story unfolds as an enchanting yet thoughtful piece about beauty, mortality and growing up.
Plot
A unicorn lives timelessly and alone in its forest until it hears from travellers that it may be the last living unicorn. It sets out to learn the truth and is first captured by the witch Mommy Fortuna. Freed by the bumbling magician Schmendrick and the worldly-wise Molly Grue, it continues its journey. The trail leads to the gloomy realm of King Haggard, whose terrible Red Bull has driven all unicorns into the sea. To escape, Schmendrick transforms the unicorn into a human woman — who, as "Lady Amalthea," begins to feel what she never knew as a unicorn: love, fear and mortality.
Cultural significance
Beagle's "The Last Unicorn" is regarded as a modern classic of fantasy literature, lifted above the usual adventure tale by its literary ambition and elegiac mood. The story asks what it means to be unique and immortal — and what price becoming human exacts. Especially in German-speaking countries the material became a cross-generational cult phenomenon through the film, and it has remained a popular family piece in the theatre.