DER THEATERMACHER

On 17 October 2019 the KELLERTHAER INNSBRUCK turns 40. With Klaus ROHRMOSER and Elmar DREXEL, two artists are on stage who were already part of the very first performance as actors back in 1979. And I was there too – as an enthusiastic member of the audience. My affection for this theatre has not faded to this day. Back then I had no idea that I would one day help shape this anniversary.

The play is set in the run-down dance hall of the "Schwarzer Hirsch" inn. The state actor Bruscon is touring the provinces with his comedy of mankind, "Das Rad der Geschichte". He wrote the play himself. The text is, of course, a stroke of genius. Naturally, Bruscon plays the lead. Much to the dismay of his family, who have to share the stage with him. For the great state actor considers everyone else to be bungling amateurs. And the place where the performance is to take place, the little village of Utzbach, naturally fails to meet the lofty standards of this theatrical genius.

In wonderful monologues, Bruscon grumbles his way through the madness of making theatre. The landlord of the "Schwarzer Hirsch" listens patiently. But when the actor demands that the emergency lighting be switched off at the end of the performance, things get tricky. Because that would have to be approved by the fire chief of Utzbach. And he happens to be in Gallspach at the moment. This drives the state actor mad. And with relish, the tragedy takes its course.

With this play, Thomas Bernhard created a monument to everyone obsessed with theatre. With wonderful irony he tells of megalomania and provincial narrow-mindedness, of theatrical berserkers and misunderstood geniuses. And of Austrian landlords who can't even cook a decent pancake soup.

PRESS

TIROLER TAGESZEITUNG(October 2019 )

"DER THEATERMACHER" at the Kellertheater: A perpetually grumbling domestic tyrant

" ... VERENA SCHOPPER's production revolves around the perpetually grumbling Bruscon, who himself believes that the world revolves around him. ... KLAUS ROHRMOSER is superbly cast as the cantankerous would-be somebody. With the look of an ageing dandy, Bruscon unleashes a Bernhardian tirade against Nazi-brown Austria in general and the perversity of theatre in particular. Even on the first night, Rohrmoser seems positively fused with his role. After almost 50 years in the profession, many of the human abysses of stage life must seem familiar to him.

The greatest scorn is reserved for his "own untalented brood", whom the patriarch Bruscon conscripts as mere extras in the warped comedy of mankind "Das Rad der Geschichte".

His wife Agathe (SUSANNE SCHARTNER) no longer speaks a single word, so much mockery has she already had to endure. Son Verruccio (EDWIN HOCHMUTH) is at least a constant as a disappointment. Daughter Sarah (WILTRUD STIEGER) has to massage her father's toes and tell him how wonderful he is. .... Thomas Berhard's sweeping broadsides still get laughs. Such as this one: "A talented actor is as rare as an arse on a face." Here, however, Bernhard was mistaken. His play at the Kellertheater is definitely worth seeing, because it is lively, entertaining and well acted. "
(Markus Schramek)


BEZIRKSBLATT TELFS (October 2019)

" ... Since the acclaimed premiere on 4. 10. 2019, the madness of making theatre has taken centre stage at Innsbruck's Kellertheater. Directed by VERENA SCHOPPER, KLAUS ROHRMOSER embodies Thomas Bernhard's "Der Theatermacher" and is definitely wearing his "lucky cap" here, for the role is tailor-made for him. In a minimalist, absolutely fitting set (ROBERT SIMMERLE), you literally hang on his every word .... With this programme, the Innsbruck Kellertheater not only gives itself a birthday present for its 40th anniversary, but also makes the audience's cultural heart glow with joy, for the theatre here is a brilliant "institution of favours". And to put it in Schopenhauer's words, here one regards art "from the point of view of genius". Great theatre, impressive ensemble.
(Sabine Schletterer, Telfs)