The second play in Frank Wedekind’s Lulu cycle is titled Pandora’s Box. It follows Earth Spirit, the first play in the pair, and continues the story of Lulu and the destructive relationships surrounding her.
Wedekind wrote the two plays in the late nineteenth century. Together they are often called the Lulu plays. Georg Wilhelm Pabst adapted both works for his 1929 film Pandora’s Box, which made Louise Brooks internationally famous in the role of Lulu.
The title can cause confusion because Pandora’s Box also refers to the ancient Greek myth, a 1929 film, later films, and the familiar idiom. Wedekind’s play is a modern European drama, not a theatrical retelling of Hesiod. Its title uses Pandora as a metaphor for the consequences unleashed by Lulu’s presence.