Staged reading: When I see you biting into your schnitzel I feel that it won’t be enough for the whole of Shakespeare

Satirical mini-plays by the perpetually angry Austrian author famous for his audacity and incisive criticism. Claus Peymann Plays belong to his rarely staged minor works from the 1980s and map Bernhard’s relationship with the prominent theatre director during the peak of their collaboration. In an absurd and humorous way, they capture Peymann’s path to becoming the head of Vienna’s Burgtheater and his subsequent coming to terms with his new position.

Directed by the collective artistic leadership of HaDivadlo, the actors’ ensemble brings to life—through a staged reading—a journey across famous Austrian locations. While indulgently eating schnitzels, beef soups and pastries, and drinking wine and Viennese coffee, the characters constantly talk about the past and the future, about Shakespeare and new trousers, about acting, dramaturgy, old and young Nazis, politicians, and their own unease with themselves and with the world around them. And also about those moments when we can laugh at it all—chuckle quietly or loudly—at ourselves, at each other, at theatre, politics, and the world.