Deconstructing Modernism: Axel Tangerding Brings Eliot’s The Waste Land to Bengaluru

From Verse to Physicality

Architect-turned-director Axel Tangerding, the founder of Munich’s META Theatre, approaches the stage as a living laboratory rather than a static backdrop. In his production of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, performing in Bengaluru at Jagriti Theatre from July 30 to August 2, the set consists of a stark white square coated in plaster. During the performance, this surface is broken away layer by layer. Tangerding views this act as a metaphor for stripping back fragmented realities to discover what is reliable in an age of misinformation.

The collaboration between META Theatre and Jagriti Theatre features actor Nicole Kleine and live instrumentation by Ardhi Engl. The performance aims to capture the emotional coherence of the 1922 poem, which Tangerding compares to the non-linear cinematic style of Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive.

A Centennial Evolution

The transition from text to stage was an organic development rather than a planned adaptation. In 2022, marking the centenary of the poem’s publication, Tangerding staged a full reading. Enthusiastic audience reception drove the project to evolve from a simple reading into a musical libretto and, eventually, a full-scale theatrical work. Tangerding identifies Eliot’s poem as the primary milestone of modern literature, noting its rejection of traditional rhyme and meter in favor of a shattered, multi-layered structure.

• Performance Dates: July 30 – August 2, 2026
• Time: 7:30 p.m. IST
• Venue: Jagriti Theatre, Whitefield, Bengaluru
• Language: English

Fragments Across Centuries

Eliot’s work is noted for its cultural density, incorporating references ranging from William Shakespeare and Richard Wagner to the final Sanskrit invocation of the Upanishads. Tangerding observes that younger audiences, accustomed to overwhelming and disconnected information, find a particular resonance in these fractured voices. The director notes that the poem captures a specific tension between post-World War I despair and a desperate longing for renewal.

Drawing influence from Jerzy Grotowski and New York’s La MaMa Theatre, the production emphasizes the core of performance. By treating the stage as a site for raw experimentation, Tangerding follows the radical tradition of Peter Brook, using Eliot's 20th-century masterpiece to reflect the spiritual and emotional barrenness of the contemporary era.

Source: The Hindu – Entertainment