The Premiere review of Badische Neueste Nachrichten ascertains: “Wolf E. Rahlfs convinces with his production of the Classic at Badische Landesbühne by applying a mashup-style aesthetic that juxtaposes the versatile styles of the source material and thereby connects them in a graceful manner. (…) Rahlfs’ “Steppenwolf” exhibits the pure pleasure of game-playing and is full of surprises until the very end.” – And the Heilbronner Stimme concludes: “This production merits national recognition.”

Excerpt from the premiere review of Badische Neueste Nachrichten: “Cornelia Heilmann received enthusiastic applause for her portrayal of Celia.” The Fränkische Nachrichten state: “Disturbingly honest theatrical rendition of the complexity of human emotions.” The Wolfsburger Allgemeine Zeitung titles: “Intense drama that takes the audience to the threshold of pain.” And – according to Wolfsburger Nachrichten – an audience member goes to the record with saying: “I have never seen anything like it before.”

The Volksstimme about the premiere in Stendal: “Cornelia Heilmann scintillates in this production. (…) From the very first moment one is drawn into the inimitable atmosphere of this production.”

The Badische Neueste Nachrichten headline reads “This really takes it out of ya“. The Fränkische Nachrichten witnessed a “disturbing chamber play“ and the Main Echo finds prove in the production that the “ancient conflict between man and law, family and state, remains bang up to date”.

The Rhein-Zeitung headlines “United in Shakespeare”. The reviewer summarizes: “This thoughtful joining of theatrical diversity makes for an evening of unconventional poetic Shakespeare with its own logic and merit.” Conclusion: “Even William Shakespeare would have taken great pleasure in such innovate scenic adaptations of his sonnets.”

The Allgemeine Deutsche Zeitung for Romania in Bucharest ascertains: “The latest premiere at the German State Theatre guarantees two and a half hours of training for the laughing muscles, for such as this time the audience has not laughed in a long time.”

The review of the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung states: „Congenially staged“, while the  Burghauser Anzeiger observes: „Where many directors fail with contemporary interpretations of the Classics, Rahlfs shows, how intense and absorbing a modern reading of the struggle for power between the two queens, Elizabeth and Mary, may be.”

The Fränkische Nachrichten sum up: „A 90-minute assault on the audience's disposition. Heart-stopping and disturbing.”

The Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung simply detects „sublime acting“, while the Schwarzwälder Bote establishes: „Brutality and Blues go hand in hand.”

The Fränkische Nachrichten saw an „ensemble of actors, bubbling over with wit and joy of playing”. The critic of the Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung puts to the record: „A thoughtful production with spectacular scenes“.

The Heilbronner Stimme attests the actors „peak performances“. The Bruchsaler Woche concludes: „Not for the faint-hearted.“

The Rhein-Zeitung summarises „Splendid!”

The Badische Neueste Nachrichten witnessed a „roller coaster ride superbly orchestrated by director Wolf E. Rahlfs”. The Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung is inspired to ask: „How rough and evil may satire be?“. „Maybe a little bit too much for some audience members, who are visibly frightened” say the Fränkische Nachrichten. And one audience member sums his opinion up without further ado: “Ugh, yuck!”

The Siegener Zeitung saw a „riveting production (…) breathless, emotional, fascinating“. The Südkurier states: „Attention roused, concentration challenged; audience compelled to think for itself.” And in the Badische Neueste Nachrichten the critic sums up that his production „forces one to ponder about the nature of justice”.

Regarding the retranslation of director Wolf E. Rahlfs the Rhein-Zeitung notes: „Rahlfs’ aspiration, to conserve the poetry and musicality of Shakespeare’s text whilst making it comprehensible to a modern-day audience, was pretty ambitious. And pretty well done!”

The Badische Neueste Nachrichten feel inspired to say: „Once again Rahlfs proves himself as an outstanding director of actors, who motivates the cast to deliver their very best.“

The Fränkische Nachrichten title: „Clear the stage for the comedic energy of director Wolf E. Rahlfs! (…) Joke upon joke upon joke.“ The Mittelbadische Presse is delighted to see “open-air theatre both slick and feather-light”, whereas the Main-Netz concludes: „Wolf E. Rahlfs stages this Classic in such a way, you don’t know what hit ya!”

The Leipziger Volkszeitung quotes the jury on their statement of grounds: “Aesthetically this was the most consistend production”.

The Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung discovers the „puzzle of a family, slowly assembled, precise and edgy, and projected into a scenic arrangement of astonishing depth.” And the Badische Neueste testify: “Grand theatre with minimus effort (…) The performance is perfectly balanced between realism and symbolism.”