Fritzl-based play opens in Vienna

[holy king]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7906725.stm

Fritzl-based play opens in Vienna

A controversial comic play inspired by the case of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man accused of kidnapping and raping his daughter, has opened in Vienna.

The play, Pension F, has prompted outrage in Austria and its director says he has received death threats.

But Hubsi Kramar said the play was not a comedy about incest but a comment on media coverage of the case.

Mr Fritzl is due to go on trial on 16 March charged with murder, enslavement, rape, incest and false imprisonment.

Many of the audience members during the first show were members of the media.

Spoiler :

Posters torn down

Wearing a gold blazer, white shoes, slicked-back hair and a tiny moustache, Mr Kramar turned the focus from the stage to the audience, with comments such as "media representatives are very sensitive people" and "the more intelligent ones are here".

The BBC's Bethany Bell in Vienna says the largely improvised play is highly experimental and involves actors working with victims of abuse, who are playing some of the parts.

Some of the show's most memorable characters included Help Man, a superhero who wears red stockings on his head, and an abuse victim wearing a bag over her head whose testimonies are always cut off.

Mr Kramar said that as well as anonymous death threats, posters at the 3raum Anatomietheater, which is staging the play, had been torn down and glue smeared on the stage door.

"The media hunt is beginning to have an effect. It will be dangerous for all involved," said Mr Kramar, who altered the play's original title of Pension Fritzl in response to the protests.

Mr Kramar said the play was a work in progress and would develop as journalists arrived to report on Mr Fritzl's trial.

"The media are writing the play and I'm reacting to it," he said.

At the end of the show, Mr Kramar urged the audience not to forget other victims of abuse whose stories have not yet been told.

Investigators say Mr Fritzl, 73, has confessed to imprisoning and raping his daughter Elisabeth, and fathering seven children by her.

But he denies murdering one of those children, who died shortly after birth and whose body he incinerated.

 

[RedRalph]

you know when you know you have no talent? when you have to pull a stunt like this because you know its the only way your work will get noticed

 

[holy king]

the guy's been doing this his whole life.
dont know, some people just love pissing people off and create some outrage. nothing wrong with that.
doesnt mean your viewpoint doesnt apply partially.

 

[Winner]

I don't know - two of Czech comedians made a play about a huge corruption scandal that was making the news here in the Czech rep. some time a go, and they used the police-made transcripts of phone calls between the accused officials to construct dialogues.

It was a huge success

 

[Phlegmak]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7906725.stm

You know, some subjects are best NOT made into comedic plays.

 

[holy king]

the comedic part of it is said to be about the media's handling of the events.
havent seen it yet though.

 

[Phlegmak]

the comedic part of it is said to be about the media's handling of the events.
havent seen it yet though.

Yes, I read that in the article, but still, it's such a poor choice for a play.

 

[holy king]

Yes, I read that in the article, but still, it's such a poor choice for a play.

because plays shouldnt thematise actual events? isnt there supposed to be a socio-hygienic effect of drama?

 

[Masquerouge]

Yes, I read that in the article, but still, it's such a poor choice for a play.

There are a lot of plays dealing with murder, rape, incest, treason and other despicable values.

I think it's interesting that people are okay with a play based on, say, Nero or Oedipus, but as soon as it hits too close to home they're suddenly all up in arms.

 

[RedRalph]

There are a lot of plays dealing with murder, rape, incest, treason and other despicable values.

I think it's interesting that people are okay with a play based on, say, Nero or Oedipus, but as soon as it hits too close to home they're suddenly all up in arms.

It's not intersting at all, its common sense, common sensitivity and an understanding of the playwrites real motives.

 

[.Shane.]

Yes, I read that in the article, but still, it's such a poor choice for a play.

I'm not sure you're thinking this through. We have plays, movies, books, etc... that cover topic matter much more serious/consequential than this.

 

[Phlegmak]

I'm not sure you're thinking this through. We have plays, movies, books, etc... that cover topic matter much more serious/consequential than this.

Yeah, I didn't think it through.

A while back, after the Dahmer murders, some guy made a comic book based on the murders, the cannibalism, the sex, and so on. It hurt the families of the victims tremendously. Even though that comic contained stuff in other comics, should that particular subject been used or should it have been laid to rest? I'm inclined to say it would have been better to just not use Dahmer as a subject for a comic.

Oh well.

 

[.Shane.]

Yeah, I didn't think it through.

A while back, after the Dahmer murders, some guy made a comic book based on the murders, the cannibalism, the sex, and so on. It hurt the families of the victims tremendously. Even though that comic contained stuff in other comics, should that particular subject been used or should it have been laid to rest? I'm inclined to say it would have been better to just not use Dahmer as a subject for a comic.

Oh well.

I guess my point is... WWII, the Holocaust, Vietnam, etc... all kinds of horrible thing are fodder for such expression. Especially as they are WORSE events should they be off-limits?

 

[Masquerouge]

It's not intersting at all, its common sense, common sensitivity and an understanding of the playwrites real motives.

Oh because you think Shakespeare, Racine or Homer had only noble, pure artistic intentions?

And the only appropriate topics for a play are non-real, happy events? That's boring.

Note that I'm not talking about whether or not the play in the OP is a good play, I don't care much about that. I'm talking about how people here are saying some topics are off-limits.

I'm not sure you're thinking this through. We have plays, movies, books, etc... that cover topic matter much more serious/consequential than this.

Yeah. Agreed.

 

[Phlegmak]

I guess my point is... WWII, the Holocaust, Vietnam, etc... all kinds of horrible thing are fodder for such expression. Especially as they are WORSE events should they be off-limits?

No, they shouldn't be.

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Good for them? Frankly, I don't really mind much.

 

[.Shane.]

No, they shouldn't be.

Wow, so no books, no plays, no movies about any topic of suffering? Sorry, but that's nuts (to put it nicely).

 

[Phlegmak]

Wow, so no books, no plays, no movies about any topic of suffering? Sorry, but that's nuts (to put it nicely).

You interpreted my answer in exactly the opposite manner it was intended. I was answering this question by you:

"Especially as they are WORSE events should they be off-limits?"

"No, they shouldn't be."

 

[.Shane.]

You interpreted my answer in exactly the opposite manner it was intended. I was answering this question by you:

"Especially as they are WORSE events should they be off-limits?"

"No, they shouldn't be."

Sorry, misread.

/apologizes
/curtsies

 

[Camikaze]

Reminds me a bit of Beaconsfield: A Musical in A Flat Minor. I thought that was quite inventive.