World, pain, means – a conversation with Irene Girkinger

04 October 2023

Post originally written in: Deutsch

Innsbruck bears the motto "alpine-urban". What is alpine for you in the city, what is urban?

Irene Girkinger: "For me, as it probably is for everyone, the alpine shows itself in the proximity of the mountains. I don't know any other city where they are so present and people walk around in functional clothing as a matter of course. As a child, I went on a lot of mountain tours with my parents, then puberty came and I didn't think mountain climbing was cool anymore. In the meantime, I'm very happy to be out in the mountains again, including mountain biking to the alpine pastures in the area."

And what is urban for you?

"In the city, the Markthalle, the area around Maria-Theresien-Strasse, the Innsbruck House of Music, the Tyrolean State Theater and the Tyrolean State Museum. A lot of culture is offered here in a small space. It would be great if the idea of a cultural quarter around the Hofburg, the Volkskunstmuseum/the Landesmuseen and the Landestheater were taken up again. I also think the arches culture is great, this variety of pubs under the railroad viaduct, plus the combination of historical and modern architecture. Contemporary formats like pop-up art or culture could be a bit more present."

This is where the Tiroler Landestheater could pick up, couldn't it?

"In fact, we want to go out more. The traditional theater festival in September offers an opportunity for this, but we also want to be present at district festivals, in schools, on public squares, in other words, we want to involve the public space. Overall, under my leadership, the Landestheater should open up more to new groups, be more permeable."

What was the first thing you did after moving to Innsbruck?

"Even before moving from Bolzano to Innsbruck, I was always there for longer periods of time. At the end of the summer I moved into my apartment in Innsbruck and immediately went on an alpine tour by bike. I especially appreciate the Italian cafés in the city center, in "La pausa" you can get my favorite aperitif: Select Spritz. In addition, there are very good restaurants in Innsbruck - so I have already experienced some pleasurable moments."

Since the beginning of September, the terms world, pain, means have been hanging on large banners between the columns of the Tyrolean Landestheater. Three words that leave a lot of room for interpretation, which is fitting for the theater. Nevertheless: please explain these three terms and their connection to each other.

"Each of these terms works on its own, and they can also be combined. They evoke different associations: One person perceives more the remedy, another the world-weariness, yet another the painkiller. So the three terms open up spaces for thought - and that's also a big goal of the theater."

With your directorship, around 100 new employees are starting at the Tiroler Landestheater. What does that mean for the house?

"With every new directorship, the composition of the artistic staff changes. This is a natural process that takes place in all houses. A new directorship means repertoire changes, new focuses - the team must be composed accordingly. We have placed a great deal of emphasis on a multilingual ensemble and want to dissolve the boundaries between the divisions more strongly. Now it's a matter of growing together. This happens in the artistic work, in the joint development of the material and pieces. The people behind the stage, in the technical department, in the administration, in the workshops, make sure that everything works. They form the scaffolding of the house."

You have installed a two-person management team in each of the four divisions - musical theater, drama, dance and young theater - with a high proportion of women. What new opportunities and perspectives does this open up?

"We live in the time of MeToo, in which concentration of power is - rightly - increasingly viewed and discussed critically. Theater is part of this social change, and I think it's important not to put decisions in the hands of one person. Theater is a collective process, and that should also be reflected at the management levels. I also wanted to strengthen dramaturgy in the divisions. Dramaturges play an important role in the artistic planning of a season and the concrete conceptual development of plays, but they are often in the second row in terms of perception. And that more women should be in leadership positions is not a revolutionary attitude, but should be self-evident. So we are acting on the cutting edge at the Tyrolean Landestheater and are now quite ahead in international comparison."

At the start and on further evenings in October, the actress Birgit Minichmayr interprets Lotte Lenya, one of the most famous singers of her time, who made songs by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht famous. Brecht maintained a very exploitative relationship with women. So it's a bit surprising that the choice fell on songs by Brecht.

"The focus of the evenings is not Weill and Brecht, but the interpreter Lotte Lenya. An exceptional phenomenon, a very self-confident and extremely successful singer. She helped Weill 's and Brecht 's songs become highly popular and had a strong influence on Weill, appropriating the songs in her own unique way. Altogether, the prelude stands for the fact that we want to devote ourselves strongly to the topic of exile, exile literature and music in the coming years. Lenya, Weill and Brecht, after all, fled to the U.S. from the Nazis."

In April 2024, the play "Café Schindler" will be staged, which has to do with Innsbruck's recent history. It is based on the memories of Meriel Schindler, whose ancestors founded the legendary Café Schindler in Maria-Theresien-Strasse and were expelled by the Nazis by the Nazis. Why this piece?

"Taking up contemporary historical sensitive, repressed and current topics is one of the pillars of my work. Dealing with the Nazi era is enormously important. Jewish history and, for that matter, the history of the Tyrolean Landestheater during the Nazi era have not yet been sufficiently illuminated. When I was appointed artistic director of the Tyrolean Landestheater, I immediately sought the world premiere rights for Meriel Schindler 's book. We want and need to reach young people with it."

With the new classroom play, you go directly to school classes. It starts with "Die Fremde" (The Stranger), which the Innsbruck writer Christoph W. Bauer wrote especially for it. What is it about?

"In several of his literary works,Christoph W. Bauer has dealt intensively with the history of Innsbruck, with that of its houses and especially also with Jewish history. He is a specialist in the literary realization of such topics. The play brings Innsbruck's Jewish history to life and is aimed at people aged 14 and older. In the classes, we can establish direct contact, bring theater directly to the students and create a dialogue. The play also forms a content bracket to 'Café Schindler'."

The balance of the 2022/23 season was: 694 events, 178,878 visitors. What balance would you like to draw at the end of your first season?

"Johannes Reitmeier ended his directorship with an outstanding season. And of course my goal is to follow up on that. But normally you have to reckon with ten to 15 percent losses when there is a change of artistic director. I'll be very happy if, at the end of the season, we can continue last season's success in terms of ticket sales and subscriptions - and then in the next few years, of course, I'd like to further increase the occupancy rate and perhaps reach the 200,000 mark!"

Rate this article

From 0 ratings

Show me the location on the map

Susanne Gurschler

Innsbruck has captured her heart, and the view of the Nordkette mountains soothes her soul. A journalist, non-fiction author, bookworm, amateur photographer, dog owner and mountain walker #ghostsofinnsbruck