Just A Must

A forgotten European masterpiece, the final work of Werner Schwab, marking two decades since the great Austrian playwright’s untimely death.

Werner Schwab (1958-1994) was the undisputed star of German-speaking theatre who effortlessly rose to fame for his unique talent with language and his macabre, humorous, confrontational narratives. In only four years, he completed fifteen plays with Dead at Last, No More Air (Endlich tot, endlich keine luft mehr) being his last. Shortly after its completion he was found dead in his room following a New Year’s Eve drinking spree in 1994 at the age of only 35.

A brutal, irreverent and bizarrely comical piece about what happens when an emerging theatre production is sabotaged by outsiders. Following a dispute with the cast, the director replaces all the actors with pensioners from a nearby home for the elderly. At first compliant and polite, the ‘forgotten and dispossessed’ gradually start to question the director’s authority, leading to a ‘coup d’état’ where the theatre’s cleaning lady is selected as the group’s leader. Not everybody survives the new order.

Suitable for ages 12+