A century of The Waste Land: T.S. Eliot’s famed verses come alive on stage
Director Axel Tangerding is staging a theatrical adaptation of T.S. Eliot’s 'The Waste Land' in Bengaluru. The production uses architectural stage design to interpret the poem's fragmented themes.
Why it matters
Highlights the ongoing cultural relevance of modernist literature and its adaptation into immersive performance art.
What happens when an architect‑turned‑director takes up T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land ? Eliot’s fractured poem is transformed on stage into a living canvas. That is exactly what Axel Tangerding, founder of META Theatre Munich, does. Known for bringing his architectural sensibilities to the theatre, he treats the stage not as backdrop but as environment: a stark white square, covered with plaster, “prepared anew for each performance,” then broken layer by layer to reveal what lies beneath. “It’s like looking beneath the surface,” he explains over a call from Germany. “In a time of fake news and fragmented realities, theatre must ask what is reliable, what comes down.”
Director Axel Tangerding will also be on stage | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in