Rechnitz (Der Würgeengel) is a play by Elfriede Jelinek. She had originally barred it from being shown in Austria but made an exception for the Festwochen. It was directed by Jossi Wieler [German] and stars Katja Bürkle, André Jung, Hans Kremer, Steven Scharf [German] and Hildegard Schmahl.

Plot:
Rechnitz is a town in the East of Austria, where in 1945 during a party by Countess Margit von Batthyány, Nazis killed about 200 Jews as part of their entertainment. Until today, the remains of the victims were not found, neither was the whole affair properly investigated.
The play itself doesn’t really have a plot. It consists of five people, referred to as Delivery Persons/Messengers, telling the story of the massacre in ever repeating circles.

Before I say anything else, let me perfectly clear: I don’t get Jelinek. I don’t get why she’s famous, I don’t get why she’s so fucking complicated and I don’t like her style. I wouldn’t have watched this play if my whole family hadn’t said that they wanted to see it, too and as an Austrian I think it’s my responsibility to a) confront myself with WW2 on a regular basis and b) see at least one Jelinek play (I have read one of her novels already, so I can check that off my list*).

Bearing that in mind, I really did not like the play.

Qualitatively, it was an excellent production. The actors were awesome – and playing Rechnitz must be a tour de force, especially under the direction of Jossi Wieler – he really doesn’t cut them any slack. The focus is one hundred percent on the actors and they’re on stage practically the whole time. The play, btw, is almost two hours long and there’s no break, so there’s that, too.

I also liked the stage design which was extraordinary but fit the play very well.

But I was sitting in this play and caught myself thinking about something completely different every five minutes. Then I’d chide myself and listen for another minute or two and then my mind would begin to wander again… Which makes it very practical that they kept repeating themselves all the time, but my suspicion is that if they hadn’t repeated themselves all the time, I would have been better able to listen. Also, I don’t go to the theatre to think about the cute guy I met that other time or that I have to do my laundry. I go to the theatre to watch and listen to a play. [A friend compared watching a Jelinek play to listening to jazz, which is a pretty apt comparison. I don’t like jazz, either.]

Anyway. Jelinek’s language is completely artificial and I’m sure that she intends it that way. But this, for me, has two effects: 1. I keep picturing Jelinek in her study, typing away on a typewriter, continuously congratulating herself on her genius for finding yet another word play. 2. It completely removes me from the story. And it’s a horrifying story, so I should be horrified by it. Instead it has all the emotional impact of a wet baguette.

Summarising: everybody I was with liked the play, so maybe my reaction is very weird. I guess, if you’re interestd in theatre, you’ll have to see a Jelinek play at some point. Then it might as well be Rechnitz.

Here are some clips from the play:

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*I read The Piano Teacher and I thought it was okay, but nothing to write home about. I was rather young, though, when I read it so I don’t exclude the possibility that I didn’t get everything. I’m not going to find out by reading it again.