Der Weltuntergang

What's it about?

When "Der Weltuntergang" (The End of the World) by Jura Soyfer was published in 1936, Austria was politically infiltrated by countless NSDAP members - and the annexation to Germany was only a matter of time. In these turbulent times, the then 24-year-old wrote this cabaret-like play, creating a pitch-black, satirical contemporary document that mercilessly parodies both high politics and the world of the common man (and woman). 90 years later, politics and economy are once again at a crossroads. While in 1936 Europe, with American calls, was at the center of Austrian perception, the globalized world is currently politically reordering itself. Today's technical possibilities were at best utopian in Jura Soyfer's time; the possibilities and, above all, the dangers of social media, hybrid warfare, and perfected disinformation were unthinkable. These circumstances - as well as the concept of station theater - prompted us to revise the original and add current images and human types. Some scenes have remained almost unchanged, some have been gently transferred to the present, and much new material has been added, all seasoned satirically and with black humor. We have retained the brilliant basic idea: What happens when you suddenly learn that a giant comet will crash into Earth in three months?