183 Members of Parliament

The Final Days of Austria as We Know It

At the time of the premiere, the Austrian National Council has been in office for a year and a half. It comprises 183 members of parliament. 183 political bodies, for the bodies of politicians are the medium of representation. 183 bodies and 183 brains. How do they work? What messages do they send out into the world? When do their statements have substance? When are they just idle chatter? And who are the people behind the words, really? What do they earn? Where do they come from? Who else do they work for? What do they own? Surely we should know these things about the people who represent our interests.

In “183 Members of Parliament. The Last Days of Austria as We Know It,” actors from the Schauspielhaus and TiB ensembles listen closely and speak aloud what the members of parliament say. 
Following the model of Karl Kraus’s “The Last Days of Mankind,” original quotes from parliamentary speeches delivered in the Austrian National Council are collected. 
The result is a polyphonic text that, at its best, reveals the beautiful and the “ugly” depths of local politics in a terrifyingly funny way: 
A theatrical mirror of Austrian politics, between self-aggrandizement and fascist tendencies, between seriousness and absurdity.
It’s okay to laugh. And to cry.

Starring
Juliette Eröd, Gabriela Hiti, Eva Hofer, Annette Holzmann, Mario Lopatta, Lorenz Kabas, Anna Rausch, Martina Zinner

Set Design
Helene Thümmel

Director
Monika Klengel

Dramaturgy
Emily Richards, Herbert Graf

Sound Design
Moke Rudolf-Klengel

Lighting Design
Martin Schneebacher

Projections
Richard Dank

Production Manager
Christina Romirer

A co-production of TiB and Schauspielhaus Graz in cooperation with “Meine Abgeordneten”.

(We have our texts translated by DeepL)