Tales From The Vienna Woods

The University of Auckland German Drama Company presents Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (1931) by Ödön von Horváth, 1901-1938.

Directed by Chris Holdaway. Performed in German, detailed English synopsis provided.

The Viennese 'Volksstuck' (people's play) accounts for a significant portion of theatre in the German language, and Austro-Hungarian born playwright Ödön von Horváth (Glaube Liebe Hoffnung; Kasimir und Karoline) is arguably the most influential of authors in this field. However in this piece he turns the genre inside out - taking tradition for the proverbial ride through the woods.

Middle-class Marianne from suburban Vienna is engaged to Oskar, the owner of a butchery, and none too enthusiastic about it. She then meets and falls for seemingly free-spirited Alfred, who unfortunately has no intention whatsoever of honouring a serious relationship - even as Marianne breaks off her engagement. In satirical farce, one tragicomic event after the other follows as their simple lives are shaken about in de-masking the cliché of 'Viennese congeniality'.

Written in the onset years of the Great Depression, Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald won the Kleist Prize in 1931 as an appropriately tumultuous tale for the historical context, and as a satirical parody of an entire genre it is one of the key works of modern German drama.

Event listed by choldaway

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