Misery Chastain is the name of a popular character from a series of romance novels conceived of by author Paul Sheldon. Though the ‘Misery’ series made him famous, he now desires to move on to other literary levels. So, without further ado, he kills off his main character. He finishes his latest, highly ambitious book in a mountain village in the tranquility of winter. Manuscript in hand, he embarks on the journey home and ends up having a bad accident due to a snow storm. Sheldon is rescued by a woman who describes herself as his ‘biggest fan’ but later turns out to be a dangerous psychopath. Annie Wilkes is a trained nurse with both the education and the array of medical supplies needed to keep the badly injured author alive. Unable to leave his bed, Sheldon is utterly at the mercy of her mood swings. When Annie learns of Misery’s death in the last novel, the caring and nurturing side she initially shows him disappears forever.

The events that follow could only have arisen from the unfathomable imagination of Stephen King. Annie begins committing her malicious acts subtly at first, then with more and more blatant intensity – all of them aimed at hurting Paul, who now finds himself trapped in a desperate situation.

No one else is able to imitate bestselling author Stephen King’s ability to transform the primal fears of humanity into an incredibly entertaining work of popular fiction and, in doing so, balance on the fine line between horror, psychological drama and irony. The charged atmosphere between Paul Sheldon and Annie Wilkes provides ample fodder for an evening of theatre overflowing with thrills and chills.

Caroline Stolz, head of the Wartburg venue, is experienced when it comes to staging classic works of suspense, as she directed a very successful production of Hitchcock’s ‘The 39 Steps.’ Together with Jan Hendrik Neidert and Lorena Dìaz Stephens, she is set to deliver another spine-chilling show this season.