In August, 1022, the Kammerspiele of Hamburg toured Holland, with
Reigen in their repertoire, but without great success. In Rotterdam and
some other cities the dialogs were forbidden, in Amsterdam and The
Hague permission was granted only after certain changes in thetext had
been made.5
A production planned by Betty Nansen in 1922 in her theatre in
Copenhagen was inhibited bythe censor. In April, 1925, she again made
preparations to stage these scenes, but again the censor (Rosenberg)
interfered, stating according to a German paper:“ Das in einem aufge¬
wühlten Lande wie Deutschland eine derartige Schweinerei gezeigt wird,
ist ja denkbar; sclange ich jedoch als Zensor in Dänemark sitze, wird es
hier nicht aufgeführt werden.?* Nevertheless, after certain textual
changes had been made the censor authorized a performance for May 9,
provided a prominent literary personage gave an introductory lecture.
The house was sold out at higher prices and there was spirited applause.
The censor was sharply attacked in the press. The textual changes had
been made without obtaining the author’s consent. In reply to a telegram
from the Ertrablaadet he protested against any changes not authorized
by him.
Other performances were given in Brünn, February, 1921; Gera i. R.,
June, 1921; Köslin, August, 1921; Kiel, January, 1922; Eisenach, Janu¬
ary, 1922; Bonn, February, 1922; Paris, February, 1922; Christiania,
March, 1922; Neumünster, June, 1922; Dresden, July, 1922.
A performance of Reigen had been announced bythe Innerstädtisches
Theater in Budapest for March 27, 1926, but was forbidden bythe city.
authorities. The Italian première took place in Rome in March, 1926,
where Reigen was produced by Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Director of the
Teatro degli Indipendenti. A few days later the police interfered and pre¬
vented further performances. In Teplitz in Czechoslovakia the political
district government inhibited the staging of these scenes in the summer
of 1928.
Reigen was translated into English by F. L. Glaser and published in
New Vork in 1920 under the title Hunds Around. A performance planned
for members and guests of the Green Rcom Club in New Vork City,
composed of leading actors, playwrights, and dramatic critics, on March
11, 1923, in honor of Otto H. Kahn was prevented byrthe Lord’s Day
Alliance and the Society forthe Suppression of Vice. The play was read
instead from the stage of the auditorium on the second floor of the club
house by Hal Crane and Ralph Stewart who were to have staged the
production. About fifty members and guests were present. Mr. Kahn left
atthe close of the dinner and did not hear the reading.
On October 23, 1926, the Triangie Theatre in New Vork, under the
direction of Kathleen Kirkwood, opened its fourth subscription season
with a presentation of Reigen. As admission was limited to members
there was no interference and the performances were continued nightly
for a number of wecks.
The translation Hands Around soon fell under the ban of John S.
Sumner, Secretary of the New Vork Society for the Suppression of Vice
who was more or less successful in suppressing the book simply by duress.
No actual test in the courts was made until the fall of 1929. On October
8, 1920, a raid, conducted under the direction of Mr. Sumner, resulted in
the arrest of Max Gottschalk, owner of the Knickerbocker Book Shop
at 124 West forty-fifth Street. Copies of two books were confiscated by
the anti-vice crusader, one of which was Hands Mround. Mr. Gott¬
schalk was charged with the violation of Section 1141 of the Penal Law,
hut on November 27, 1929, the complaint against him was dismissed
by Magistrate Louis B. Brodsky in the City Magistrates’ Court, Second
District, Borough of Manhattan. Stating that in his opinion Hands
Around was of unusual literary merit, Magistrate Brodsky continued:
45 Berliner Börsen-Conrier, February 15, 1021.
40 Favorable reviews appeared in the Leipeiger Zeitung. January 24, by Hans Natonek,
and in the Leipeiger Tageblatt, January 25, by Hans Georg Richter.
47 Landesseitung (Hanover), October 20, 1021.
48 Cf. Breslauer Neueste Nachrichten (May 6, 1021):" Ein reizender Theaterabend von
liebenswürzliger und nachdenklicher Heiterkeit; Breslauer Zeitung (May 7, 1921):" Der
Besuch kann empfohlen werden.?
# Published in the Schlesische Zertung, May 12, 1921.
5e Polkswacht (Breslau), September 5, 1921.
51 Vossische Zeitung, August 16, 1922.
52 Leipziger Tageblatt, April 15, 1025.
53 Cf. The H’onld (New Vork), October 9, 1929.