The third act - the plays
'I consider the performance of Nestroy, Grillparzer, Schnitzler to be good political propaganda' (33)
Lily Hammerschlag was on the Executive Board of the Austrian Centre, so her opinion carried weight. These authors were held to be especially appropriate since they represented not only Austria’s cultural heritage, but also the country’s struggle for liberation. Hammerschlag’s statement must be seen from the perspective of Austrian cultural propaganda at the time. Four weeks later, in November 1943, the Allies finally committed to establishing a free and independent Austria once the Nazis were defeated.
From April 1944, the theatre presented a programme consisting almost exclusively of modern Austrian plays, performing works by Schnitzler, Anton Wildgans (a former director of Vienna’s Burgtheater), Karl Schönherr, the ‘peasant dramatist’ Ludwig Anzengruber, Hermann Bahr and Raoul Auernheimer. Virtually all these productions were directed by Paul Hardtmuth.
The Laterndl’s repertoire during its final year was conceived to re-introduce Austrian exiles to their literary heritage, aiming particularly at younger refugees whose memories of Austria were faint. It also had an ideologically more ambitious aim: to propose a new canon of Austrian dramatic literature suitable for performance in a post-war democratic Austria.
'What is it you want most? A logical, reasonable basis for believing that the world's got a future' (34)
The American play Thunder Rock was the most up-to-date play, written in direct response to political events in the late 1930s. The relevance of the play’s message to Laterndl audiences was unmistakeable as it dealt with the question of the proper response to Fascism, which many felt the Laterndl should have addressed long ago. The play was already very familiar to many, having been performed by internees on the Isle of Man in August 1941. It had also been a hit in the West End and a popular film version came out in 1942. This may have been one reason it was less popular at the Austrian Centre, although Robert Neumann blamed the Centre's lack of marketing for the play.
The production of Thunder Rock in February 1943 inaugurated a string of international plays which included works by J. B. Priestley, Niccolò Machiavelli, Louis Verneuil and Leonid Rachmanov. This repertoire of international modern plays reflected the alliance of national liberation movements in London.
The Czech comedy Die Bekehrung des Ferdisch Pistora (The Conversion of Ferdisch Pistora) and the Soviet play Professor Poleshajew were performed in an explicitly political context. Professor Poleshajew opened its run with a gala performance in honour of the 26th anniversary of the Red Army, given in the presence of Soviet dignitaries. Similarly, Ferdisch Pistora received a special performance at a Friendship Evening for Czech writers, organised by Austrian PEN, at which the play’s author was in the audience.