Burgtheater in crisis: New productions divide opinions!

Burgtheater in crisis: New productions divide opinions!

There is currently a lot going on in Vienna's theater landscape, but the renowned Burgtheater is struggling to build on previous successes. Works by Thomas Bernhard and Werner Schwab, who were once considered indispensable provocateurs against bourgeoisie and a deceitful public, are not met with much enthusiasm by the new generation of directors. Younger directors often show disinterest or even treat these well-known names in a mocking manner. That describes Welt.de.

Therese Willstedt is currently staging Bernhard's "Extinction. A Decay" at the Burgtheater, but the performance isn't really popular with the audience. It creates a great distance from the text and is criticized as ironic and irrelevant - the inner events fall by the wayside. In contrast, Julien Gosselin caused a stir two years ago with a more serious approach to “extinction.” Schwab's “Annihilation of the People or My Liver is Senseless,” also directed by Willstedt, is colorful and harmless, which doesn't do justice to the serious subject matter. An emotional “vibe shift” seems to be emerging: negative feelings seem to be a relic of bygone times.

A look back at Bernhard's work

"Annihilation. A Disintegration" is not only a piece of theater, but also Bernhard's last novel, which was published in 1986. The first-person narrator Franz-Josef Murau, who loses his family after a tragic accident, reflects on his life and his roots. The production at the Burgtheater is accompanied by music and presents the approximately 650-page work in around three hours, while Bernhard's typical stylistic devices are retained. The stage, skilfully papered in red by Mårten K. Axelsson, set in dramatic contrast to the themes of the text, also features costumes such as dirndls and priest's cassocks, and the actors seem to display a certain change in their portrayal of the main character. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung points out that the production also makes close references to Austrian history after the Third Reich.

Meanwhile, the new production of Schwab's “Annihilation of the People or My Liver is Senseless” is about to begin at the Academy Theater. The piece is known for local expressions and bizarre sentence constructions and tells of the incompatibility between three feuding house parties, whose conflicts lead to poisoning. Here Stefanie Reinsperger shines in the role of Mr. Wurm, an alter ego of Schwab, while Franziska Hackl delights the audience as Ms. Grollfeuer.

The Theater Maker: A Different Approach

If you want to experience the best of Bernhard's work, you should watch “The Theater Maker,” a play staged by Matthias Hartmann, the former director of the Burgtheater, at the Theater in der Josefstadt. Hartmann and the main actor Föttinger vividly bring out the contradictions of Bernhard's characters and address the dark side of art. In contrast to Willstedt's productions, ambivalence and seriousness are conveyed here, accompanied by choreographed dance scenes that take up historical shadows.

The different approaches make one thing clear: the discussion of Bernhard and Schwab's work remains a hot topic in Viennese theater culture, even if the Burgtheater's productions may currently be receiving a cautious reception. The question remains whether the controversial approach of the new generation of directors does justice to the legacy of these great authors or whether a fundamental reorientation is required in order to reach and delight the audience again.