theater makers

Attempt at a Continuation
A production by Carmen Kirschner
In co-production with Theater am Werk
World premiere
Directed by: Mateja Meded
Premiere on March 27, 2026

What did it mean to hold a leadership position as a woman in Vienna in the 1980s? Johanna Tomek - actress, director, co-founder of the Schauspielhaus Wien, the Drachengasse, and later of the Theater m. b. H. - initially directed under the pseudonym "August Himmel" because female direction was hardly conceivable for many. Oh, the free scene of the 80s and 90s. Here, houses were occupied, demands were made, failures occurred, criticism was voiced, discussions took place, actions were taken, blood was splattered on walls, and everything was rethought in the tide of possibilities. Romantic? Here, democratic and undemocratic decisions were made, structures were broken and reproduced.

Today, two women find the shard of a broken jug in the Theater am Petersplatz. The trail leads to Helga Illich, actress, director, co-founder of Gruppe 80. But the deeper the protagonists dive into the mechanics of theater, the more the boundaries between rehearsal and reality blur. Where did this play begin? Who directs whom, who has control? Is it time for us to (re)organize? What starts as a tribute becomes an obsession, until the players find themselves as characters in a play they can no longer control. A metareferential story about creation and freedom encounters questions of appreciation, knowledge transfer, and change between generations. It is about expectations of role models, hopes, disappointments - and how we shape life and work in our shared society. It is about the next step.