Schnitzler’s masterpiece, La Ronde, shows a spectrum of social class from prostitutes to noblemen in a series of drily observed, loveless sexual encounters. Remembered by many as the basis of a famous film in 1950, the real notoriety of La Ronde goes back to 1900 when it was privately printed and subsequently banned. It was not performed until 1920 in Berlin, where anti-Semitic riots broke out, resulting in the arrest and trial of the cast and director, allegedly for obscenity. The controversy continued with David Hare’s adaptation, The Blue Room, which starred Nicole Kidman, at the Donmar Warehouse.

This translation is by the playwright and critic Frank Marcus, who has also provided a full introduction to Schnitzler’s life and work.