The politics of theatre - escapism versus activism
'You'll laugh, but I can't cry anymore' (15)
The executive of the Austrian Centre was dominated by Communists but Laterndl artists held a wide range of political viewpoints. Some, like Georg Knepler and Albert Fuchs, were indeed committed Communists, but there were also Social Democrats like Rudolf Spitz and many others who had no clear political affiliation other than their anti-Nazism.
For the first year of the Laterndl's existence, until the temporary closure of the theatre in June 1940, there is no record of such political differences having impacted significantly on production decisions. What may paradoxically have eased political tensions was the wider political situation at the time which meant that exiled Communists were keeping a low political profile as the 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact required them to move from outright opposition to Nazism to accommodating Nazi Germany. It was in fact a very painful period for these activists, many of whom had been amongst the earliest opponents of Nazism.
'Any party political fanfare is embarrassing and beneath us' (16)
When the theatre re-opened in 1941 the political situation had changed significantly. Britain had endured the Blitz but averted the threat of invasion and the Soviet Union had entered the war in June of that year. Communists could now openly throw all their efforts into supporting the Allied war efforts in a way that had not been possible before.
This had serious implications for the theatre. It is clear from letters from Hugo Königsgarten to Martin Miller that the theatre was now under pressure to produce more political plays. Königsgarten expressed irritation at the party political arguments and wrote the theatre should not be ruled by the spirit of Jaro Klüger, Albert Fuchs and the staff of the Austrian Centre. He argued they were wrong to assume that most of the audience were Socialists, and even if this were true, people were generally coming to be entertained.
The behind-the-scenes disagreements over the role of the theatre were mirrored by critical reaction to the first production: Laterna Magica. Die Zeitung praised its unflinching elimination of sentimentality and noted Miller's finely-tuned instinctive understanding of portraying the present with humour without it jarring. Paul Reiman, a leading member of the Czech Communist party writing for Der Zeitspiegel, was less impressed, however, and bluntly criticised several of the sketches, jokes and musical contributions.
Another Zeitspiegel writer and regular theatre critic, Eva Priester, came to the Laterndl's defence with her article 'Self-criticism of the critic'. Acknowledging the achievements of the Laterndl she nonetheless demanded a more prescriptive political agenda: ‘It’s not enough to say: “Hitler is a scoundrel and a fool”, you must also say: "You, the man in the stalls, you, the refugee worker must do this and this, so that we defeat him”.’ (17)
'What do we expect from theatre?' (18)
In January 1942 the Laterndl performed a new political cabaret, Here is the News. The production re-opened old arguments in relation to the raison-d'être of exile theatre. Should it offer an escape from the present or articulate a more political agenda? Should it merely seek to entertain or be a call to action?
Particular controversy centred around Franz Hartl's short play Brennende Erde (Burning ground). Hartl’s brutal realism in depicting the Eastern Front, heightened by its juxtaposition of comic sketches and songs, polarised opinion between those who felt exile theatre should offer an escape from the grim reality of war, and those who thought it should seek to engage with that reality. In response Der Zeitspiegel asked its readers directly: ‘What do we expect from theatre?’ Oskar Kokoschka, Robert Neumann, and Herbert Marschall spoke up for the Laterndl and in favour of more serious political theatre. Several letter writers tended to agree with them, demonstrating that immigrants expected a realistic, antifascist theatre dealing with contemporary issues.
'Is it really necessary to shake up an audience that is so homogenous, so alike in its attitudes, and shaken enough by fate?' (19)
As the news from the continent grew ever more harrowing, cabaret sketches became more difficult to write. After 1942 longer plays dominated the output and from 1943 cabaret shows were relegated to the afternoons. We have no programmes or press reviews for these matinee shows, and we can probably assume no new material was staged.
While the cabaret shows were committedly anti-Fascist, the selection of plays was not narrowly prescriptive and did not seek to enact a party political line. While some addressed issues of antisemitism, prejudice, and authoritarianism, the warnings of older plays invariably paled in comparison to the horrors of the Nazis. The Laterndl’s political message was demonstrated by performing Austrian authors, authors in exile, or authors banned under the Nazis.