Alexander Kerlin and Sebastian Kirsch: Das Kraftwerk

Symposium to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Einar Schleef’s death at Burgtheater in Vienna, curated by Alexander Kerlin and Sebastian Kirsch

21 July 2021 marks 20 years since the death of artist and theater maker Einar Schleef. In the obituary Elfriede Jelinek wrote for him, she stated that there had been only two geniuses in post-WWII Germany: Fassbinder in Western Germany, and the East Germany-born Einar Schleef, the “powerhouse” who “generated electricity” by “constantly rotating his blades in his own current.” Indeed, Schleef’s impact on theater can hardly be rated too highly–first and foremost, owing to the enormous role he played in rediscovering the choir. His probably most renowned production was the premiere of Jelinek’s Sportstück (Sports Play) at the Burgtheater in 1998. He followed it up with another two notable productions, Wilder Sommer (based on Goldoni) and the premiere of Ulla Berkéwicz’s Der Golem in Bayreuth in 1999. In November 2021 academics, artists, and friends and colleagues of Schleef will gather at a two-day symposium to present their individual thoughts and viewpoints in the form of lectures, discussions, readings, and artistic interventions.

The theater scholar Sebastian Kirsch Feodor Lynen Research Fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation with the project Knowledge of Surroundings in Theatrical Modernity. Milieu – Umwelt – Environment / Hauptmann – Appia – Kiesler.