Jerry Kwarteng

Maria Enders: [Referring to the proposed role of Helena] Time's gone by and she can't accept it. Me neither, I guess.

Klaus Diesterweg: There is no antagonism. It's the attraction of two women with the same wound. Sigrid and Helena are one and the same person. One and the same person. That's what the play's about. And because you were Sigrid, only you can be Helena now.

Maria Enders: How can you be so sure?

Klaus Diesterweg: You know as well as I do that Wilhelm Melchior had been working on a sequel for years.

Maria Enders: Yes. But it was about Sigrid at 40 years old.

Klaus Diesterweg: No, it was about Sigrid 20 years later became Helena.

Maria Enders: So who's going to play Sigrid?

Klaus Diesterweg: Jo-Ann Ellis. She did a superhero movie that just opened in the States.

Maria Enders: And besides that?

Klaus Diesterweg: Not much. She's 19. She's a lot more interesting that her interviews and profiles. She has a theatrical background. She doesn't want to be swallowed up by Hollywood. She admires you and is willing to pull out of her other commitments.

Maria Enders: I'll listen carefully. But to be honest, the role scares me. Helena scares me. I'm in the middle of a divorce. I feel alone, and vulnerable. Probably too vulnerable to do this.

Klaus Diesterweg: If you refuse, I'll understand, but it will be a missed opportunity, especially for Wilhelm.

Maria Enders: I should get going.

Klaus Diesterweg: Excuse me, but I won't be staying for dinner. Good evening madam.

Maria Enders: Klaus, I have another reason. Susan Rosenberg. She played Helena with me.

Klaus Diesterweg: I remember Susan Rosenberg.

Maria Enders: She died in a car accident a year after. It's a superstition; I've always associated her death with Helena's suicide.

Klaus Diesterweg: She was a lousy actress who didn't understand a thing about the role. And her conventional style of acting highlighted the modernity of your performance. You should be grateful to her.