Kosmos Theater (Vienna)

The Kosmos Theater in Vienna is a theater with a focus on gender issues .

Entrance with the logo of the Kosmos Theater on Siebensternplatz in Vienna

history

In 1998, one year after the first Austrian women's referendum, female artists founded the association LINK. * Association for female play space . Based on a concept by Barbara Klein , LINK. * Called for a center for art and politics that is expressly dedicated to female artists, gives space to their work, life plans, utopias and visions and anchors them more firmly in the public eye. The motto “Women need space” brought the matter to the point in a publicly effective manner. The idea found broad support from all walks of life. A four-year struggle between hundreds of activists and several thousand signatories of a corresponding petition resulted in art campaigns, protest rallies and interventions in public spaces. Among other things, the then vacant Rondell porn cinema (now Porgy & Bess ) was "artistically" occupied for ten days and nights . This occupation was ended by the police, but the ongoing activities led to an alternative object, the former Kosmos cinema in the 7th district. On May 15, 2000 the “kosmos.frauenraum” opened here, which in 2002 was renamed “KosmosTheater”. Contemporary theater found space as well as performances, dance, music, visual arts, comedy, cabaret and clowning. Founding director Barbara Klein was the artistic and commercial director of the venue until March 2018.

"I wonder how it is possible that people still have to take to the streets for their causes, have to demonstrate, have to exert pressure, just because of their being because of the biological fact that they are women."

- Elfriede Jelinek in her opening speech on May 15, 2000

In October 2017 it was announced that Veronika Steinböck would take over the artistic direction of the Kosmos Theater on April 1, 2018. In October 2018 the Kosmos Theater reopened under the artistic direction of Veronika Steinböck with a two-day opening party.

art

Entrance area

"The Kosmos Theater sees itself as a feminist house that promotes female _* voices and thus also gender balance in the theater business", is the self-description of the theater. In its theater productions, the Kosmos Theater has been focusing on contemporary drama, premieres and world premieres as well as close collaboration with collectives from the (Viennese) independent scene since 2018. In addition to its own and co-productions, the theater also organizes guest performances and is a space for performances, dance, visual arts and concerts.

In terms of content, the productions often deal with role models from the present and history, with utopias, gender troubles and feminist worldviews.

In the authorship, the focus is on female artists in order to form a counterpoint to the approximately 80% male authorship. For all in-house and co-productions of the Kosmos Theater, at least one position of the management team must be filled by an artist.

In 2018, the co-production with the Viennese collective makemake produktionen "Mutterssprache Mameloschn" by Sasha Marianna Salzmann was awarded the Nestroy Theater Prize as the best off-production (director: Sara Ostertag ).