7 - Between Tradition and a Longing for the Modern: Theater in Interwar Vienna

Summary

THE INTERWAR PERIOD REMAINS one of the most neglected in the history of Austrian theater. For many years the only general summary available was that found in the fourth volume of Nagl, Zeidler, and Castle's Deutsch-Österreichische Literaturgeschichte (History of German-Austrian Literature), which appeared in 1937. Since the 1970s numerous monographs have been written on disparate aspects of the period, such as the revue and cabaret, or on individual protagonists of the theater scene. However, the most comprehensive historical treatment to date remains Heidemarie Brückl-Zehetner's 1988 doctoral dissertation “Theater in der Krise” (Theater in Crisis), in which she examines the financial difficulties of the interwar period as a common denominator that affected a broad spectrum of theaters and entertainment venues. Economic crisis affected the entire theater and cultural scene, with all attempts to come to grips with it doomed to failure: increased capacity building failed to bring any real relief, as did attempts to use existing personnel more efficiently.

Despite the dearth of general studies on the interwar period, a relatively large number of works on cultural production under Austrofascism illuminate Viennese theater's historical context in the period from 1934 to 1938. Austro-Marxist cultural politics and events are also relatively well documented, as are the Viennese theater projects that created niches for themselves after 1934 beyond financial crisis and political repression, such as the productive cabaret scene and the “Theater für 49” (Theater for 49), small venues that seated fewer than fifty, thus avoiding the financial regulations and censorship affecting larger theaters.