Queer popular theatre guerrillas Nesterval continue Buddenbrooks – in the shape of an immersive play in the backrooms of Vienna’s night life. After being awarded the Austrian Nestroy Award for saving European social democracy, the Vienna-based performance company this time reinvent Thomas Mann’s novel Buddenbrooks .
But don’t worry, the North German national epic is mainly the starting point for an immersive theatre game continuing the iconic saga about the downfall of the Buddenbrook merchant family in the Vienna Wurstlprater of the present day. In the periphery of the entertainment district, outcasts of society gather every night at a pub called Budd’n’brooks to find a bit of happiness under the cloud of neon light. For long, the glaring light of the major entertainment industry has outshone the family business. The rules of the market have remained the same, but big business has been slow. Some have a lot to lose, others have nothing. So, who will profit from the impuissance of those who fall? Who will surrender to the lures of rising to the top? And who decides what happens next? In this elaborate theatre game production, visitors will encounter known characters, sex work, and rave excesses. They themselves will turn into protagonists able to change the fates of individuals, the whole family or even this entire play.
Queerness and diversity are the basis of all Nesterval productions. In a mix of classic acting and elements of immersive theatre, Herr Finnland and his team have been creating performative adventures since 2011. In their pieces, spectators become players who influence what happens. Nesterval productions are often site-specific projects performed outside conventional theatre spaces. The group comprises close to 20 people, including performers, drag artists, actors, and amateur players, all appearing in various constellations. There are two links between productions: Each of them contains a reference to a member of the fictional Nesterval family; and there is always a game component involved. Nesterval has realised numerous works in collaboration with brut, most recently Goodbye Kreisky. Welcome Underground.
"This time the immersive theatre of the Nesterval group takes us to the Wurstelprater: pleasurable and productive in an ingenious set design!" (Der Standard)
"Wit and self-irony are the strengths of the Nesterval ensemble, which propagates queer lifestyles and casually addresses the fact that on the stages of this world, those bodies also belong in the limelight that do not conform to the norm. Keep it up." (Wiener Zeitung)
"Thomas Mann's Buddenbrooks has never been seen so close to the time, so gloomy, so contemporary." (ndr.de)
"At some point you just want to dance away. Theater of the particularly sensual kind." (ndr.de)
"What happens in Sex, Drugs & Budd'n'Brooks is thus an evocation of ghosts, a longing for the time when loud music, swollen nasal mucous membranes, random touches and bad air were still a promise. "What kind of stories do you think these walls would tell us?" They would tell that you can buy a building and then do what you want with it. But you can't easily get rid of the ghosts that haunt the walls, the ghosts with the ill-fitting wigs and the well-fitting chest harnesses." (nachtkritik.de)
Concept Nesterval Directed by Martin Finnland Directing internship Martin Bogisch Written by / Dramaturgy Teresa Löfberg Production Emilie Kleinszig Assistence Willy Mutzenpachner Costume Andy Reiter based on Imke Paulick Equipment Andrea Konrad Choreography Marcelo Doño Character development Niklas-Sven Kerck Sound Design Alkis Vlassakakis Social Media Laura Hermann Grafic Design Rita Brandneulinger Location Sujets Photos Laura Hermann Documentary Photos Alexandra Thompson Art Photography Julia Fuchs Casting Consulting Romy Hrubeš Website Dutzi Ijsenhower Office & Accounting Doris Panzer Funding & Archive Martin Walanka
With Alkis Vlassakakis, Gellert Gerson Butter, Rita Brandneulinger, Christopher Wurmdobler, Astôn Matters, Gankerl Walanka, Laura Hermann, Claudia Six, Romy Hrubeś, Martin Finnland, Chiara Seidemann, Niklas-Sven Kerck, Julia Fuchs, Willy Mutzenpachner, Johannes Scheutz, Peter Kraus, Norbert Fiedler, Lukas Kirisits, Andy Reiter, Andreas Fleck, Lorenz Tröbinger, Schmusechor Wien
A coproduction by Nesterval and brut Wien.
With support of der Kulturabteilung der Stadt Wien. Special thanks to Friends of Nesterval, Andrea & Willy Lenk and Martin Hinterndorfer, as well as Jana Horst for the audio recordings, Queereeoké and Sommerfestival Kampnagel for the invitation in summer 2021.
Due to an illness in the ensemble, SEX, DRUGS & BUDD`N´BROOKS cannot take place on May 30th. and on 31.05. not take place as planned. In coordination with the artists, brut is working on a possibility to make up for the canceled events at a later date. More information on this will be provided in a timely manner.
The event is not suitable for minors. Access from 18 years.
Please read our Covid-19 regulations here
brut at Budd’n’brooks
Prater 34, 1020 Vienna
Due to an illness in the ensemble, SEX, DRUGS & BUDD`N´BROOKS cannot take place on May 30th. and on 31.05. take place as planned. In coordination with the artists, brut is working on a possibility to make up for the canceled events at a later date. More information on this will be provided in a timely manner.
accessible
Nordwestbahnstraße 8-10, 1200 Vienna
Subway: U1, U2 (Praterstern), U4 (Friedensbrücke), U6 (Dresdnerstraße) Tram: 5 (Nordwestbahnstraße) Bus: 5A (Wasnergasse)
not accessible
Zieglergasse 25, 1070 Wien
Subway: U3 (Zieglergasse), Tram: 49 (Westbahnstraße / Zieglergasse)
Eschenbachgasse 11 / Ecke Getreidemarkt, 1010 Vienna
U-Bahn: U4, U1 (Karlsplatz), Tram: 1, 2, D, 71 (Burgring), Bus: 57A (Getreidemarkt)