Die Eingeborenen von Maria Blut

Maria Blut is an idyllic village with a pilgrimage chapel, located just a few hours from Vienna by train. It is the dawn of the 1930s, Dollfuß is Chancellor, and the residents of “The Austrian Lourdes” are in a state of agitation. The canning factory on the outskirts of the village has been forced to close down. The businessman Schellbach is now trying to persuade the anxious townsfolk to invest in his new product, “space power”. Many of them are digging into their savings to pay for it. But when Schellbach commits suicide in the middle of the village fair and his business goes up in flames, a frightening dynamic develops in Maria Blut. The suspected arsonists are quickly identified – and must now fear for their lives. 

The Viennese author Maria Lazar (1895–1948) was one of the most insightful literary voices of her time. In short, engrossing scenes of linguistic brilliance she brings to life two dozen delightfully unconventional characters and captures their struggle between devotion to the Virgin Mary, belief in miracles, conspiracy theories and the stirrings of ultra-nationalism on the eve of the National Socialist era. Maria Lazar lived in exile for years due to her Jewish heritage and used pseudonyms to publish her extensive work, which is only now being rediscovered. An excerpt from DIE EINGEBORENEN VON MARIA BLUT was published in Bertolt Brecht’s underground magazine “Das Wort” in 1937. This is the second staging of a work by Lazar at the Akademietheater, following DER HENKER (“The Executioner”) in the 2019/20 season. This production is directed by Lucia Bihler, who recently also was at the Helm of Thomas Bernhard’s THE HUNTING LODGE at the Akademietheater.

Maria Lazar’s play DIE EINGEBORENEN VON MARIA BLUT is astoundingly relevant today. Which begs the question of what we can learn – 90 years after the self-elimination of the Austrian Parliament and 85 years after the Anschluss – from Lazar’s observations about the rise of Austro-fascism and National Socialism.

With an introduction to the work on April 16 at 5.15 p.m. in the Upper Foyer of the Akademietheater. After the performance, we invite you to a podium discussio (in German Language) with Lucile Dreidemy (Department for Contemporary History at the University of Vienna), Johanna Gehmacher (Department for Contemporary History at the University of Vienna) and Katharina Prager (Wienbibliothek im Rathaus, Vienna City Library)
Moderation: Alexander Kerlin (Dramaturg)