Image: Lalo Jodlbauer
The municipality of Grein has commissioned a new artistic partner to carry out the summer games in the municipal theater: After Michael Gert and the artists’ collective “ArtWorkers” As of this year, the actor and director Hans-Peter Kellner will be in charge of the traditional theater summer on the Danube as artistic director. Kellner has worked, among other things, as a director at the Volkstheater in Vienna and at theaters in Berlin, London and Istanbul.
His work in Grein is thanks to a long-standing friendship with the local City Councilor for Culture, Lothar Pühringer, says Kellner in the OÖN interview: “I have known Lothar for a long time and have also worked at the Grein Municipal Theater. Coincidentally, that was the last performance before the renovation. At that time I was here with Katharina Stemberger and Andreas Patton.” He was happy to seize the opportunity to return to the city on the Danube as director of the Summer Games: “On my first visit to the Stadttheater I was completely blown away. For me, this is one of the most beautiful theaters there is.”
For this stage, Kellner is currently working with Melanie Herbe and Andreas Patton on Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s worldwide success “Petty crimes of marriage”. A play that contains all facets of theater with depth, wit, romance and excitement and at the same time is intended to set the direction of the summer games for the coming years, as Kellner reveals: “I would like to stage sophisticated theater that is entertaining but also stimulates thought and reflection. It’s not an easy summer comedy, but of course it’s not really heavy stuff either.”
At the same time, Kellner has to take the financial framework into account. These are indeed “extremely difficult, but we will fight our way through”. Although the theater has a maximum of 126 seats, the aim is to keep the ticket prices affordable – under 30 euros, even at the box office. Waiter: “Theater should remain affordable for everyone.”
To achieve this, synergies are used: “Petty crimes of marriage” is therefore not only performed in the Stadttheater Grein, but also in the Waldviertler Hoftheater and at the Steudltenn Festival in the Zillertal. “Only then can we afford the production”, says the director, who scheduled nine performances in Grein from June 25th to July 9th. The undertaking is made easier by the generosity and helpfulness on site, says Kellner: “This is a great help in organizational and financial terms.”
Tickets are already available online at www.sommerspiele-grein.at and www.eventjet.at; also at the tourist office in Grein and in the Trafik Hader.
Source: Nachrichten
