Berlin theater stages first live play on Facebook

Pistol dueling in print and energetic postings of "applause" accompanied the Facebook premier of Theodor Fontane's "Effi Briest," which organizers said was the first live staging of a play on the social networking site.

Fontane's classic work, first published as a serial novel in 1894, was specially adapted to be performed on the Maxim Gorki Theater's "online Facebook stage". The play used status updates, photo uploads and wall postings from characters to relate protagonist Effi Briest's descent into disrepute. "We were really pleased to try something new and innovative, and have learned a lot about how we can use the internet for our productions," a spokeswoman for the theater said.