Children take over Vienna theatre as new season opens

The Dschungel Wien theatre for young audiences will open its new season with children taking over the house on September 19, ORF reported. The programme includes 72 productions on topics including gender roles and performance pressure.

The season will begin with the premiere of the in-house production “Kinder machen Theater”. Children from primary, middle and secondary schools spent a year developing their vision for the theatre, including ideas for costumes, technology and content. The results will be presented through September 27.

Twelve-year-old Clara Lackner-Zimmer wrote the musical “Jenseits der Träume”, for audiences aged eight and over. It follows three children who encounter their nightmares on a so-called dream island. Lackner-Zimmer said she wanted to show how people can deal with self-doubt.

War, online radicalisation and the antifeminist network known as the “manosphere” are addressed in “Die Festung fällt” by Laura Bernhardt and Lori Brückner. The production follows two boys who disappear into an online world of radical ideologies and body culture. It will premiere on September 19 for audiences aged 12 and over.

Other productions include “Die wundersamen Abenteuer des Baron von Münchhausen”, which explores lying and is aimed at children aged six and over, and “Rot”, a performance in spoken and sign language about identity. In “Rot”, a blue pencil draws in red, prompting the question of whether the label is wrong rather than the person.

Makemake productions will stage Renate Welsch’s classic children’s story “Das Vamperl” for audiences aged six and over. “Teig”, an object-theatre production for children aged four and over, asks what it would be like to encounter dough rather than simply eat it.

Questions about living together are explored in “Bis eine*r heult”, for children aged four and over. Teenagers will also be able to see guest productions from Landestheater Niederösterreich, including “Lottes Werther” and “Der Schüler Gerber”. The Luna Project’s “Ungeregelt” focuses on endometriosis.

Dschungel Wien recorded 86 percent capacity in the previous season, according to commercial director Alexandra Hutter. Artistic director Anna Horn criticised Vienna’s plan to end multi-year funding agreements, saying this could particularly endanger co-productions with the many independent groups.

The theatre hopes there will be no cuts in next year’s budget, but said that keeping the city’s subsidies at their current level would still amount to a real cut. Federal funding has secured the in-house productions. The theatre has 348 performances planned for the new season.