Thomas Perle's play "Wegener" staged as a Nazi comic

Thomas Perle's new play, "Wegener. Vergangen, vergessen, vorüber" (Wegener. Past, Forgotten, Over), is premiering at the Griessner Stadl, presenting a "Nazi comic" that delves into the persistent undercurrents of fascism in post-war Austria and beyond. The commissioned work, directed by Martin Kreidt, uses a dramatic, almost theatrical "Grand Guignol" style to scrutinize the era.

The play focuses on the Wegener family, a powerful regional innkeeping dynasty, and examines pivotal years: 1945, 1949, 1955, 1965, and 1987. Through their story, the production probes the "veiled fascism" that continued to exist and influence society long after World War II.

A key scene highlights the matriarch, Martha Wegener, reacting with disdain to her daughter's enthusiastic display of red, white, and red floral decorations, presumably in celebration of the Austrian State Treaty. Martha's sentiment suggests a preference for the pre-war era, indicating a resistance to the formation of a new Austrian state and a lingering attachment to the past.

The production's "comic" approach, combined with its stark examination of historical periods, aims to provoke audiences and encourage reflection on how fascist ideologies and sentiments may have persisted, albeit in different forms, through subsequent decades in Austria.

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Martha Wegener, the matriarch, does not want to celebrate the State Treaty at all and acidly dismisses the red-white-red floral decorations brought in happily by her daughter. A new state of Austria does not seem necessary to her; she liked the time before better.