THE FOLK FESTIVAL

"Everyone is doing well, but you are not. Don't you find that unfair?"

The Wortwiege Festival brings another of the only three plays by Helmut Qualtinger and Carl Merz to the stage: On May 12, Mr. Reindl's sad existence is finally set to experience some glory. What seems unthinkable becomes possible through curiosity and a thirst for sensationalism: The execution is to become a national festival. Sharp-tongued, profoundly wicked, and immensely funny.

Two gentlemen present Josef Reindl with an irresistible offer that will temporarily adorn the sad existence of the family man with glory, fame, wealth, and recognition: For ten million, he is to be publicly executed by guillotine on May 12. The last executioner of Austria – played by Qualtinger himself in the film adaptation – is thrilled to return to his original profession and leave behind foot care. It will be a spectacle, a festival for the people!

What follows is a macabre downward spiral that traces the journey from "That's unthinkable!" to "How exactly will you do it?"

The morbid comedy was published under the title "The Execution" and is one of only three plays by the astute author duo Helmut Qualtinger and Carl Merz. Once again, they allow us to peer into the darkest corners of the human soul. Ira Süssenbach, an expert in the absurd, the abyssal, and the ludicrous, directs this gem of Austrian stage literature for the Wortwiege Festival.

"Moral outrage is the halo of the hypocrites."
(Helmut Qualtinger)