Vienna's English Theater

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Logo of Vienna's English Theater
Entrance portal of Vienna's English Theater

The Vienna's English Theater (VET) is an English-speaking theater in Vienna . It was founded in 1963 and has been located at Josefsgasse 12 in Vienna's 8th district, Josefstadt , since 1974 . It is the oldest English-speaking theater in Europe outside of the UK.

The venue

Auditorium of Vienna's English Theater
Foyer of the Vienna's English Theater
Vienna's English Theater hall from the balcony

In the teacher's house

The VET is located in the ballroom of the so-called teacher's house , which is owned by the teacher's house association . The house was built in 1906 on the property acquired by the teacher's house association at Josefsgasse 12. It was later renamed from the teacher's house to the teacher's home . In 1997 the name was changed to Pension Lehrerheim and expanded into an accommodation facility for the general public. With effect from March 1, 2010, the hotel operation was outsourced to a hotel operator, the house (and thus also the ballroom) are still owned by the association.

The theater hall

In the ballroom of the house, which was built around the turn of the century, there is a ceiling painting that was created in 1905/06 and goes back to the architects Titus Neubauer and Gustav Richter (probably meant the painter Gustav Richter the Younger ). It is considered a special example of Austrian neo-baroque . Beginning in 1959, the ballroom was rented to various theaters. These included the Neue Wiener Bühne , the theater in the Josefssaal , the theater in the Josefsgasse and in some cases the Volkstheater also played in the so-called Josefssaal . In the 1970s, the hall, into which Vienna's English Theater finally moved in 1974, was converted into a 250-seat theater for around 200,000 DM (around 100,000 euros).

History of Vienna's English Theater

The Vienna's English Theater was founded in 1963 by the director Franz Schafranek (born  February 6,  1930 in Nové Hrady , Czechoslovakia , †  June 4,  1991 in Vienna) and his wife, the American actress Ruth Brinkmann (born  July 22,  1934 in Berlin ; †  January 18,  1997 in Vienna). It is the oldest English theater in Europe outside the UK . According to Spiegel (24/1978) it was "the last of around 30 Anglo-American theaters that were built on continental soil after 1945 - [...] the" greatest mini-theater wonder in Vienna "(according to" Die Presse ")."

The founding years

The young American actress Ruth Brinkmann came to Vienna with her parents on a European vacation in 1959, three days were planned. At home she played in plays by Shakespeare, Shaw and Chekhov. From Time magazine she had been ranked among the 15 most promising young American performers. In Vienna, on all three evenings, she went to the Burgtheater to always see the same performance by Arthur Schnitzler . Since she didn't understand a word - she couldn't speak German - and decided to stay in Austria, she looked for an interpreter . She found it, through the mediation of HC Artmann in the Hawelka café , in the Burgtheater assistant director Franz Schafranek, who came from Bohemia . The two married in 1960.

When Ruth Brinkmann tried to get involved in Vienna, she was turned down by the directors for lack of sufficient knowledge of German. This gave her the idea of ​​founding her own English-language theater. It was originally planned as a summer theater for English tourists in Vienna. The first venue was the Palais Erzherzog Karl with 90 or 99 seats. The curtain rose for the first time in 1963, when Jerome Kilty's Dear Liar ('Beloved Liar') played "[the] probably […] the most successful and cheapest two-person piece" (Spiegel, 1978). Ruth Brinkmann and Anthony Steel played the two roles . Initially, the critics predicted that the theater would soon “go bankrupt ” because it would not be possible to have a “theater summer” with a few tourists. In the first year, however, the season was extended to the whole year.

From 1964 to 1974, the theater had to change its event rooms a few more times, following the increasing number of visitors. In addition to the Archduke Karl's palace, venues were, for example, the Amerika Haus and the Theater Experiment am Liechtenwerd . Despite the success, you struggled to survive. The current deficit was covered for years by Ruth Brinkmann's father, then Leitz representative in the USA. In order to minimize costs, the principal Brinkmann herself sat at the cash register, acted as usher and then played the main role in the respective play. Her husband Franz directed, he painted the backdrops and operated the spotlights.

From 1974 in Josefsgasse

In 1974, with the European premiere of In Praise of Love (→ Productions ), with the help of the City of Vienna , the Vienna's English Theater found its final venue and home at its current location in Josefstadt . With "official subsidies of not even 300,000  marks " (Spiegel, 24/1978; the equivalent of around 150,000 euros), the locals as visitors instead of the expected tourists, despite relatively high admission prices and with (then as now) 5,000 subscribers, the house provided for weeks sold out performances and was able to establish itself in the Viennese theater landscape.

In 1978 Franz Schafranek's theater was expanded to include a French-speaking branch, the Théâtre Français de Vienne , in which actors such as Jean-Louis Barrault , Jeanne Moreau , Jean Marais , Jean-Paul Belmondo , Annie Girardot and Leslie Caron had guest appearances. In 1985 the Teatro Italiano di Vienna was added, which performs Italian pieces in the original language. Actors like Vittorio Gassman or Andrea Jonasson could be engaged for this. Since the beginning, the theater has lived from the "main attraction [...] undoubtedly [...] excellent actors. They are importing a piece of London's Westend Boulevard into Vienna's Josefsgasse ”, according to Spiegel (24/1978), who attributed this to it:“ Unlike most, unsuccessful foreign language stages, the Brinkmannsche is drilled for professional perfection. ”

With its 230 seats, the stage has a permanent place in the Viennese theater scene. The theater had its best occupancy rate of 110% in 1996 with the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream ; the average occupancy rate (as of April 2008) is around 80%.

The theater in the 21st century

As of April 2009, five English-language productions are being played in VET every season. Classics and contemporary authors, comedies, farces and crime novels, staged by native speakers , are brought onto the stage. The program is supplemented by short guest performances in French or Italian as well as by cabaret programs. The theater has (still, see above) 5,000 subscribers, some of whom have been with the VET since the beginning, making up 60% of the audience.

Theater management

Until his death, Franz Schafranek (awarded the OBE ) and his wife Ruth (awarded the MBE ) ran the theater they founded. When Franz suddenly died in 1991 the night after a premiere performance, Ruth took over the management of the theater. The daughter of the two, Julia Schafranek (born May 23, 1967), joined the family business after studying abroad (1986–1988). With the death of her father, she increased her cooperation. When her mother Ruth Schafranek (Brinkmann kept her as a stage name) died in 1997, Julia took over the management and continues the theater as Artistic Executive Director until today in the interests of her parents. On March 7, 2014 Julia Schafranek was awarded the Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria (1952) . On September 4th, 2014 she was awarded the Golden Medal of Merit of the State of Vienna by City Councilor for Culture Andreas Mailath-Pokorny .

Productions (selection)

The following overview is based on the information provided by Vienna's English Theater:

1960s

The first production of the theater, which was newly founded in 1963, was brought to the stage in the Palais Erzherzog Karl with Dear Liar by Jerome Kilty with Ruth Brinkmann and alternately with George Francis , David Carlile and Anthony Steel . In the following years, Spoon River by Edgar Lee Masters (1964 and 1966), The Owl and the Pussycat by Bill Manhoff (1965) with Maurice Warner , Gallows Humor by Jack Richardson (1966) and several other pieces, each with Ruth Brinkmann and Played under the direction of Franz Schafranek.

1970s

The America Haus played for the first time in 1970 : The World of Carl Sandburg with Ruth Brinkmann, Walker Wyatt and Marilyn Close , directed by Franz Schafranek. Various productions followed alternately in the Amerika Haus and in the Palais Archduke Karl until 1974 . In 1971, with Lovers by Brian Friel , also under the direction of Franz Schafranek, first- and once in the theater experiment at Liechtenwerd played.

In 1974, with the European premiere of In Praise of Love ( Terence Rattigan ) by the successful duo Drama Brinkmann / Director Schafranek, the venue was moved to today's venue in Josefstadt. Also in 1974, the long-running debut production from 1963, Dear Liar , again with Ruth Brinkmann in the female lead and directed by Franz Schafranek, was staged for the last time in the Amerika Haus .

The drama The Red Devil Battery Sign of Tennessee Williams in 1976 in VET welturaufgeführt. The author himself directed, the principal Brinkmamm embodied the female lead.

1990s

Edward Albees ' commissioned production of Three Tall Women by Vienna's English Theater , which premiered there in 1991, was awarded the Pulitzer Prize .

In 1998 Julia Stemberger made her English-language stage debut in Terence McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune , which was also the first directorial work of director Beverly Blankenship at VET . With the first production in 2002, the theater brought the English-language European premiere of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize-winning piece Proof by David Auburn to the stage.

2010s

The 2010 schedule includes: God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza , the thriller Suddenly at Home by Francis Durbridge , directed by Paul Tomlinson , and A Capital Affair by Rich Orloff .

In honor of Tennessee Williams 100th birthday in 2011, the play "Cat on a hot tin Roof" was performed.

The English version (world premiere) of "Butterbrot" will be performed in 2014, with Alfons Haider in the lead role .

In 2018 the piece "RING OF FIRE - The Music of Johnny Cash" will be performed in honor of Johnny Cash .

In 2019, the longest uninterrupted play in the world will also be staged at Vienna's English Thetare " The Mousetrap " by Agatha Christie

International guest actors

Over the years, the VET has gained international recognition and attention. This also made it possible to attract well-known theater and film stars to guest performances in “Josefsgasse”. Among them were Joan Fontaine , Anthony Quinn , Horst Buchholz , Linda Gray , Larry Hagman , Gracia Patricia von Monaco , Dame Anna Neagle , Siobhán McKenna and Dame Judi Dench .

In addition, until 1978 Dawn Addams appeared in George Bernard Shaw's Candida , Morag Hood (who played the role of Natascha in the 20-part BBC TV series War and Peace ) in Jan de Hartog's The Fourposter and TV -Maigret Rupert Davies in Gaslight . Peter Wyngarde (who became famous as Jason King ) starred in Dear Liar .

List of actors (selection)

Promotion of children and young people

Theater on tour

From the very beginning of Vienna's English Theater, large-scale tours have been part of Austrian schools. From humble beginnings - 12 performances for 3,000 pupils - hundreds of performances developed for around 250,000 pupils per year all over Austria. In 1982, at the suggestion of interested and committed teachers and with the support of the Ministry of Education, the French tour was added.

Showtime, the English-speaking theater school

The Showtime theater school was founded at the beginning of the 2010/11 school year . This is intended to teach children and young people between the ages of 6 and 18 in a varied way basic knowledge in the areas of acting, dance and singing. The aim of the theater management is to give children and young people space to discover themselves and their talents and to promote them.

Vienna 'English Theater - Academy

The VET Academy was founded in 2018. The Academy is a private drama school. The language of instruction is exclusively English. Acting students are introduced to the five elements of acting in a 4-semester course: acting, movement, voice & singing, skill-based modules and performance. During the school year, the students have the opportunity to exchange ideas and present their creative work. At the end of each academic year, students work together on a play for public performance at VET.

Trivia

The “mini-theater” paid its star actors in the 1970s on average only around 500 euros per week, the hotel in Vienna they also had to pay themselves. “Because, as paradoxical as it sounds, you have little choice,” says Der Spiegel (24/1978). This was attributed to the fact that the fees for film and television in England and the USA were so high that the actors can no longer afford to act in the theater series in London and on Broadway because of the TV and film fees that were lost in the time could.

In Vienna's always been fond of the "crème de la crème" of Vienna, gathered "from the red government members to the Black opposition leader, to President of the Industrial Association. Of the top trade unionists" The contingent that one to a first card got more than luck, namely title and funding, needed. For the seating arrangement, the American Ruth Brinkmann stuck to the minutes of the State Department so as not to offend anyone. Because “the hierarchical k. u. k. The rules of the Republic of Austria [she was] not up to. "

The then Federal President Rudolf Kirchschläger had once been asked to appear late. He should move into the already full theater as the highest guest of honor. In response to this request, Kirchschläger phoned back with the question: “Why do I have to come fifteen minutes later? Can I not see the beginning of the piece? "

Anniversary exhibition

From September 25, 2013 to April 30, 2014, the anniversary exhibition “50 Years of Vienna's English Theater” took place in the Josefstadt District Museum .

Awards

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Vienna's English Theater  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The teacher's house association was founded on May 8, 1886. In 1938 the association was dissolved by the National Socialists , the house and the other assets of the association were incorporated into the Nazi teachers' association . The association was re-established in October 1945.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Website of the teacher's house association: History of the teacher's house association . Retrieved May 15, 2010.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Theater: Creme complete. A theater with a foreign tongue is making a career in Vienna - the “Vienna's English Theater” . In: Der Spiegel . No. 24 , 1978 ( online - June 12, 1978 , accessed May 15, 2010).
  4. ↑ Schafranek, Franz . In: austria-lexikon.at , January 30, 2012, accessed on August 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ a b English website of Vienna's English Theater: Biography of Franz Schafranek, OBE. 1930-1991 . Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  6. ↑ Brinkmann, Ruth . In: austria-lexikon.at , March 14, 2012, accessed on August 22, 2012.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g Website of Vienna's English Theater: Geschichte. ( Memento of the original from August 4, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 15, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.englishtheatre.at
  8. ↑ a b Website of Vienna's English Theater: Productions 1963–2010.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 15, 2010.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.englishtheatre.at  
  9. ↑ The actual subsidies from the Federal Ministry for Education and the Arts in 1978 amounted to 1.85 million schillings (around 134,500 euros) and 1.70 million schillings (around 123,500 euros) according to the 1978 Art Report, p. 57 ( online (PDF, p. 22 ; 1.4 MB) . Accessed on May 16, 2010.) For comparison: Funding in 2008: 260,000 euros according to Art Report 2008 ( online (PDF, p. 59; 1.4 MB) . Accessed on May 16, 2010. )
  10. ↑ a b Online magazine “Die Josefstadt”: Vienna's English Theater has been a cosmopolitan institution in the middle of Josefstadt for 45 years , April 21, 2009. Accessed on May 15, 2010.
  11. ↑ a b c Wieninternational.at: A recipe for success in English ( memento of the original from October 10, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 30, 2008. Retrieved May 15, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.wieninternational.at
  12. ↑ Hübner's Who is Who in Austria : Schafranek Julia ( Memento of the original from January 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of May 9, 2008. Accessed May 15, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.whoiswho.co.at
  13. ↑ H (arald) St (ERK) : Broadway in Annagasse . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna June 20, 1965, p. 10 , top left ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
  14. ↑ Vienna's English Theater - Theater you can touch ( memento of the original from September 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Julia Schafranek on the school tour program English theater goes to schools (undated). Retrieved May 15, 2010. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.schooltours.at
  15. ^ Johann Werfring: Great moments of a beloved liar Article in the "Wiener Zeitung" of March 20, 2014, supplement "ProgrammPunkte", p. 7.

Coordinates: 48 ° 12 ′ 30 ″  N , 16 ° 21 ′ 11 ″  E