Austria itself is nothing but a stage

The exhibition marking the twentieth anniversary of Thomas Bernhard’s death offers a comprehensive survey of his work for the theatre, with the focus on the two Austrian cities where many of his plays had their premieres: Salzburg and Vienna. With the help of five plays first performed in these two cities, the exhibition illustrates central aspects of Bernhard’s work for the stage. The main focus is on how Bernhard created and developed Der Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige (The Ignoramus and the Madman, 1972), Die Macht der Gewohnheit (The Force of Habit, 1974), Der Theatermacher (Histrionics, 1985), Ritter, Dene, Voss (1986), and Heldenplatz (1988). All five plays deal with art and artistic work in the context of a period marked by its hostility to art, with the futile struggle for perfection and dominance, but also with Austrian politics.

Numerous documents from the estate of Thomas Bernhard, as well as composition drawings and stage photographs, help to illustrate one of the most exceptional careers in the history of Austrian literature and theatre – one that alternated between spectacular triumphs and headline-grabbing scandals. The exhibition also brings home to visitors the vital contributions to this success story made by some of the period’s most important theatre artists: by the director Claus Peymann, by the stage-designer Karl-Ernst Herrmann, and by celebrated actors such as Bernhard Minetti, Traugott Buhre, Marianne Hoppe, Kirsten Dene, Bruno Ganz, Wolfgang Gasser, Martin Schwab or Gert Voss, to name but a few.

In addition, the exhibition documents the different aspects of reality that converge in Bernhard’s plays: the world of the circus, of the theatre and of music, as well as Vienna’s upper middle class society and Austrian politics and contemporary history – Bernhard’s final play Heldenplatz was at the centre of one of the country’s biggest theatrical scandals, and its impact on media and politics is extensively documented in the exhibition.

he curators of the show - devised in collaboration with the Thomas Bernhard Archive and the Thomas Bernhard Private Foundation - are Martin Huber and Manfred Mittermayer, while Peter Karlhuber is responsible for the exhibition design and installation.