Love, Ernest

Everyone knows it’s often easier to share a personal story with a stranger than with someone you know. A conversation like that can feel liberating — almost as if you’re seeing your own life from a fresh, unexpected angle.

The great writers were no exception. They too loved a good heart-to-heart. So it’s hardly surprising that old Hemingway, wandering into a bar on a wave of romantic nostalgia, might just open up to you. At least about one part of his soul — the part where a remarkable young woman once took up residence. Strictly speaking, you’ve already met her. She’s appeared more than once on the pages of his books, though under different names. Chances are, you’ve never known her real one.

It isn’t hard to guess: she was his first, and greatest, love. Of course — unrequited. Hemingway carried her memory with him all his life, but only now, for the very first time, he’s ready to tell her story. All he needs is a companion at the table — someone whose eyes he can meet, someone to share a quiet drink with. Something strong? Probably not.

This tender, light-filled story unfolded long before an insecure seventeen-year-old named Ernie became Ernest Hemingway, the literary legend. But even after the fame, even after the Nobel, when he wrote to her — and he did — he still signed off the same way: Love, Ernest.

We all know, or at least suspect, how wild and controversial Hemingway’s life truly was. But maybe, just maybe, here and now, through your unique conversation, after carrying his first love through a lifetime, he’ll finally earn a second chance. Who knows?

Trivia:

• The creators explored Hemingway’s childhood in depth and, while working with documents from the U.S. National Archives in Washington D.C., uncovered a previously untold story of his first love — a love that left its mark on both his personal life and his entire body of work.
• In the same archive, they also discovered an authentic photo taken by Ernest’s sister, Marcelline Hemingway, during that very walk.
• The audio performance is a truly unique project for both Berlin and Germany — a collaboration between the theater company PROCESS Productions and the renowned Berlin bar, PETER’S.