Alexander Widner

Nietzsche oder das deutsche Elend
Szenische Fragmente aus dem deutschen Denken
2 D, 11 H, Verwandlungsdek
UA: 26.09.1992 · Das Schauspielhaus, Wien · Directed by: Hans Gratzer
“Scenic fragments from German thought”: thus spake Nietzsche, the philosopher with the hammer, at the end of his life; but it was not the end of his fiery agitation of German misery. This is where the Austrian author Alexander Widner comes in, to write an “evil, utterly contemporary text” about the “case of Nietzsche, this mad life that brilliantly and devilishly erupted in a paralytic collapse.” “This piece of art succeeds in a most fascinating way – it is equal parts poetry and truth, a subjective view of one of the most complex chapters in German intellectual history, which is unparalleled in its fateful misinterpretations and therefore requires a fresh examination.” The hallucination of a spirit, explosive, infernal, vivacious and wanton, is catalysed in the figure of rebellion, which Joachim Bliese transformed into a “fascinating theatrical tour de force” in the 1994 world premiere composed by Hans Gratzer and Thomas Birkmeir at the Schauspielhaus Wien. (Weimarer Tagespost)