The Laterndl Theatre
'In these dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About the dark times'.'(10)
As Bertolt Brecht predicted, there was indeed singing about dark times. Throughout the world, wherever there were refugees, exile theatres and groups proliferated - from New York to Shanghai to Buenos Aires. For actors struggling with new languages and lacking professional networks in host countries, refugee community theatres enabled them to continue working in the performing arts.
Due to selective immigration regulations, many immigrants were middle-class and Austrian refugees were predominantly secular, assimilated and cultured. Theatre was a familiar art form and the sheer number of groups reveal its vital role for exile communities. Theatre was a communal experience, enabling refugees to create shared stories and articulate their situation, often using humour.
A dominant form of exile theatre was political cabaret. Short sketches and songs needed fewer resources and less space than plays and allowed writers to react to the ever-changing political and military situation.
The Laterndl was the first and largest of a number of German-language theatres run by exiles in London during the Second World War. It reunited friends and colleagues who had worked together in Vienna at one or other of the political cabaret theatres which had flourished during the period of Austro-fascism, 1934-1938. Other groups with professional actors and contributors included the Blue Danube and the Freier Deutscher Kulturbund (Free German League of Culture) - as well as groups of amateurs such as the Austrian Centre Players and the Young Austrian Theatre.
'Listen people and let it be said:
In dismal nights, in frightening days
we ignite a little light
that speaks of far-off tomorrow
that shall be the Lantern!' (11)
The three actors who proposed the opening of a theatre at the Austrian Centre in March 1939 - Fritz Schrecker, Franz Hartl and Franz Schulz - had clear aims in mind for the theatre. They wanted to give the wider refugee community hope and belief in the future, contribute to the fight for a free and independent Austria and reach out and share stories with their British hosts. Perhaps, just as importantly, was an unspoken hope that theatre would bring a sense of agency and purpose to their life in exile.
The theatre was registered as a club, allowing it to escape censorship. This also meant that the refugee contributors did not need a work permit.
The theatre's name, Das Laterndl - The Little Lantern - signified a beacon of hope in the darkness. As the curtain fell at the end of every performance, the company bade a reassuring farewell to its audience with a verse from the Nachtwächterlied (Night Watchman's Song), a German folk song adapted and performed by Fritz Schrecker.
The founders of the Laterndl wanted to provide a home for Austrian drama and keep Austrian culture alive at a time when their country had politically ceased to exist. This was unique at the time - other exile theatres brought together German-speaking refugees from different countries. As there was no agreement at the time concerning the fate of Austria and Britain had accepted the annexation, this was, in itself, a political statement.
124 - 126 Westbourne Terrace, W2
The Laterndl opened at the Austrian Centre, 126 Westbourne Terrace in June 1939. There was a heated discussion about the configuration of chairs - rows of chairs versus tables with chairs - as was usual for Kleinkunstbühnen. Once they settled on rows of chairs the auditorium seated 50-60 people. The stage was tiny - only 5 x 3 metres. Austrian architect Herbert Ostersetzer built the sets and designed the interior of the two rooms at the Austrian Centre, adapting them into a performance space for the Laterndl's first production in June 1939.
When war broke out in September 1939 the Laterndl, like all theatres and cinemas in Britain, had to close.
153 Finchley Road, NW3
The Laterndl could not go back to Westbourne Terrace due to stricter fire regulations, so a new venue was found in North London at 153 Finchley Road. It had once been a music school and offered a larger auditorium, seating up to 160 people. Karl Josefovicz designed most of the sets between 1939 and 1940, but the stage was not much bigger than before.
Life for Austrian refugees - now classified as 'enemy aliens' alongside German refugees - was restricted, and performances had to start earlier to give audiences time to get home before the 22.30 curfew.
When Germany invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, fears of an imminent invasion and hightened anti-German sentiment led to the internment of many refugees. The Laterndl had to close again as many of the contributors and the audience were interned.
As the building did not belong to the Austrian Centre, it was taken over by the Free German League of Culture when the Laterndl moved out.
69 Eton Avenue, NW3
In 1941 the Austrian Centre acquired a house at 69 Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, which had previously belonged to the Hon. John Collier, a prolific amateur artist. 'As you enter the front door your nose meets the savoury whiff of Viennese cooking, your eyes the pictures that the Hon. John painted untiringly. [...] The pictures climb the stairs and then go around the studio where the Lantern Theatre give their performances.' (12)
The final home for the Laterndl could seat about 100 visitors. Beside Josefovicz, other stage designers who worked for the Laterndl in Eton Avenue included Franz Hoffer, John Heartfield, Erwin Weinberg, Guenther Wagner and L. Horovitz.
From autumn 1940 onwards internees were slowly released from the camps. A year later many had been freed and were now allowed to join the armed forces or received work permits for the first time. Thus, performances reduced to four times a week, as many of the contributors now spent their days working in factories as well as working as domestic servants.
'The quality of the performance far exceeds the usual good Laterndl format, gets everything out of the comedy, is a magnificent ensemble performance, thanks to Martin Miller's direction' (13)
During the early period of the theatre's existence, most of the actors and other artists working at the theatre had very little money. They received a percentage of the takings, once costs for costumes and stage design were deducted. The popularity of the Laterndl was very connected with the success of Austrian Centre. The Centre supported the Laterndl by providing performance space and marketing the shows through regular listings, reviews and adverts in the Centre's weekly newspaper - Der Zeitspiegel. The reviews were generally glowing, as the reviewers were very aware of the limited resources of the theatre.