The first show
'The programme is really a running commentary on events of the day' (22)
The first show, entitled Unterwegs (On the road), premiered at the Austrian Centre on 27 June 1939. It was directed by Martin Miller, with set design by Herbert Ostersetzer and Karl Josefovics, costumes by Käthe Berl and Hertha Winter, and Kurt Manschinger on the piano. It was a typical Viennese Kleinkunstabend, opening with a light-hearted sketch about Hitler's territorial ambitions and ending with a musical parody about a day in the life of Viennese inhabitants.
The first sketch was in English and the rest of the show was in German - and quite often in Austrian dialect. There was however, a compère who introduced each piece in English, to give all members of the audience a better chance to make sense of the content.
The show included some pieces which had already been performed in Vienna. Das Lied des einfachen Mannes (The song of the simple man) by Jura Soyfer particularly moved the audience. The last sketch - Ein musikalischer Tag (a musical day) - was originally performed in Vienna in 1935. It was rewritten for the the third and then again the ninth show, having been updated to a day in the life of refugees in London.
'Bow Street brought tears to the eyes of the weaker members of the audience' (23)
The main sketches addressed three themes which would come up again and again:
- Refugee life
As the review in the Spectator noted, the sketch which resonated most deeply with the audience, was Bow Street. Set in the immigration court in London it movingly touches on the various challenges refugees face: bureaucracy, uncertainty and loss of status, and puts the plight of refugees from the Nazis in the context of earlier groups who needed refuge. Eventually the judge, supported by 'Mrs Charity' and against the advice of 'General Bias', grants asylum to all three refugees. This was also seen as a thank you note to Britain.
- Warning about Nazis
Der blühende Garten (The flowering garden), shows how most plants are dying in this garden and yet wheat is flourishing. The title was a reference to a speech by Hitler promising to turn Vienna into a flowering garden. The sketch was a warning about the destructiveness of the Nazis.
- Offering hope for Austria
A common theme of the Laterndl's dramatic sketches was that of Austria's distinct and enduring cultural identity. Hugo Königsgarten's 'Wiener Ringelspiel' (Vienna merry-go-round) mocked the Nazi occupation of Austria, portraying a Vienna which had embraced in turn the Romans, the Turks and the French. All had eventually retreated and left Vienna - with its own particular cultural, linguistic and historical idiosyncrasies – unchanged, creating hope for a better Austria.
'They made an extremely favourable impression' (24)
The premiere of Unterwegs was a social occasion for the Austrian refugee community. It was attended by well-known Austrian writers Stefan Zweig and Robert Neumann, as well as English writers H.G. Wells and J.B. Priestley.
The audience loved it and there was much laughter as well as sighs of recognition throughout the show. It was performed daily, about 60 times, in front of sold-out crowds.
Surprisingly for the Laterndl, the show was reviewed widely in the English press, including The Times, The Manchester Guardian, The New Statesman, The Star, and The Spectator. Reviews for the show were very positive and many recognised it as a new form of entertainment, as yet unknown in London. The Spectator declared: ‘We should be grateful to Herr Hitler for the Lantern. Austria’s loss has been our gain.’(25)
At the beginning of September 1939 the Laterndl, like all theatres and cinemas in the UK, had to close due to the outbreak of war.