Rainer Werner Fassbinder: The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
An intimate drama about fragility and desire. Petra von Kant, a successful fashion designer, is going through a divorce and unexpectedly falls under the spell of a young woman named Karin, who awakens in her a desire to shape the girl’s still-unformed personality.
Dramaturgie: Renata Venclová
Překlad: Petr Štědroň
Zvukový design: Jan Šikl
Hudba: Jan Šikl
Režie: Tomáš Soldán
Premiéra: 27. 5. 2025 (Český rozhlas Vltava)
Vzhledem k prezentovaným situacím a charakterům postav obsahuje hra expresivní výrazy.
Her uncontrollable emotional dependence on Karin gradually tears apart Petra’s mental state and personal life. But she still has her daughter and mother, to whom she has obligations, so she will have to quickly swallow her bitter tears.
This raises the question of to what extent the play is based on Fassbinder’s own life. Autobiographical motifs can be traced throughout Fassbinder’s work, and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is no exception.
The play itself is often interpreted as a distorted reflection of the author’s own experiences with complicated, sometimes destructive relationships, in which the roles of victim and manipulator often blur.
Čtěte také
Fassbinder incorporated his experience with one-sided passion and emotional dependence into the play. Changing the characters’ genders allowed him to explore the dynamics of the relationship with greater detachment—but no less intensity.
The radio adaptation, based on Petr Štědroň’s translation, emphasizes the timelessness of the author’s message—it frees the play from specific historical context without forcibly transposing it into the present.
The play’s soundscape then offers listeners a glimpse into the more sensitive layers of Petra’s perception of the world around her.
The main character, weary of the weight of her obligations, seems to be struggling to awaken to a banal and partly feigned reality that demands her complete participation without offering her any reward in return. The result is evasive maneuvers, excessive drinking of gin and tonic, and self-flagellating listening to The Cure.
Composer and sound designer Jan Šikl, together with director Tomáš Soldán, tell the story of Petra von Kant with a dynamic reminiscent of the music video for the song “Smack My Bitch Up” by The Prodigy.
Repression and submission alternate; characters appear, demand, lecture—the maid Marlene seems as if she doesn’t exist, yet she does. Fassbinder’s text, written with ruthless precision and yet with an understanding of the pain the characters inflict on themselves and others, has the potential to become a compelling radio experience.
This is primarily thanks to the deep emotional investment of all the actresses involved: Anita Krausová as Petra von Kant, Tereza Maxmilián Marečková as her lover Karin, Klára Suchá, who plays Petra’s friend Sidonie, Antonie Barešová in the role of Petra’s “teenage” daughter Gabi, and Olga Zimmermannová-Kaštická, who portrays the protagonist’s mother. An interesting challenge was the silent character of the maid Marlene, as prescribed by the play. Actress Kristína Jurková helped gather the sounds of a concrete physical presence—treated as an unrealistic symbol—at the Olomouc studio.
Download the script to your cell phone:
We will be presenting the project at Prix Bohemia Radio
When: Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Where: UP Arts Center, Film Hall – 3rd floor
Entrance: Free admission with accreditation
