2023-05-16 17:46:00
A new “Antigone” by Michael Köhlmeier and a new children’s play by Peter Blaikner are on the program of “Austria’s largest independent theater” in 2023/24.
In the post-pandemic struggle for audiences, many theaters rely on classics and popular material. In the 2023/24 season, on the other hand, the Salzburg theater is trying to strike a challenging balance between “commercial pressure of expectations and difficult fare,” as director Robert Pienz announced on Tuesday. Dystopian material such as George Orwell’s “1984” – in a new version by dramaturge Tabea Baumann – and Juli Zeh’s “Corpus Delicti” are on the program, as well as an adaptation of Jane Austen’s novel “Pride and Prejudice” or the crime comedy “Arsenic and Lace Caps”.
It opens on September 16 with “Antigone” in a new version by Michael Köhlmeier, according to Pienz “a moderate sensation”. Theodora Bauer, from Burgenland, who deals with corruption in Austria in “Kleine Geister” (Little Ghosts), and Peter Blaikner will also be making world premieres. Three decades after the successful plays “Ritter Kamenbert” and “Das Hausgeisterhaus”, the Salzburg author returns to the children’s theater genre with “Das Büchergeheimnis” at the Schauspielhaus. Contemporary theater also offers the Nestroy Prize-winning folk play “Adern” by the young Tyrolean author Lisa Wentz. “We support contemporary drama,” says director Jérôme Junod.
According to its own definition, “Austria’s largest independent theater” makes a further commitment to the subject of fair pay. Thanks to federal subsidies, 84 percent of the salaries for the approximately 100 employees of the company could be adjusted to the guideline in the previous year. Nevertheless, Pienz complains of a “structural deficit”, the house was missing around 200,000 euros due to a lack of guest performances and ticket income as a result of the pandemic. The new head of administration, Reiner Philipp Kais, is hoping for financial recovery from increasing public interest – a capacity utilization of up to 74 percent is expected for the coming season – as well as European co-productions with Luxembourg and Timisoara, which are also to gain EU funding in the future.
1684273811
#Schauspielhaus #Salzburg #committed #fair #pay #theater #time