Travel Tip: Dance in Austria
Troubleyn / Jan Fabre: The Power of Theatrical Madness

Belgian artist Jan Fabre (born 1958, Antwerp) comes to Vienna with a marathon event for theatre fans: After more than 25 years, he re-enacts his historical pieces The Power of Theatrical Madness and This is theatre like it was to be expected and foreseen - both productions are considered as key works of recent theatre history. He also revives Andersen’s fairy tale, The Emperor's New Clothes. With the demonstration of this sublime lie, the ultimate masquerade, Fabre brings a regnum to the stage that is on its last legs. Numerous scenes showcase the splendour and the beauty of the lie. Pose, pomposity and mannerism dominate. The pomposity, however, is taken down by the sense of reality on the stage. The duration of real time thus undermines the lie of fiction.


Troubleyn / Jan Fabre: The Power of Theatrical Madness
© Patrick T. Sellitto

Fabre creates his own Gesamtkunstwerk, by interweaving an overwhelming number of projected images of the mannerist schools, with musical quotes by composers such as Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Othmar Schoeck, Bizet and minimalist music by Wim Mertens.

In The Power of Theatrical Madness, Fabre unfolds the principles of power. With a reference to Foucault, Fabre charts the system of discipline. The actors’ physical endurance is constantly tested to the extreme.

Duration: approx. 260 min.

(It is possible to walk in and out during the performance and the bar is open during the entire performance.)

*Please notie: This performance is rather not suitable for children (younger than 14 years).