Felix Hafner and ensemble
Ein Volksliederabend in Addis Abeba (An Evening of Folk Songs in Addis Ababa, 2024)
Performance
M. K. Chebly, Addis Abeba: Piazza della Stella ai tempi del Negus (1900), postcard, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Modern art only arrived slowly in the rather conservative Graz. But there were some young art students who looked and traveled far beyond Styria. In 1925, some of them—including the later famous architect Herbert Eichholzer—voyaged to Abyssinia and elsewhere in Africa. When the journey became longer and more complicated than planned, they ran out of funds.
Out of necessity came an unexpected artistic performance: to raise money, the group organized a folk song evening at the Austrian Embassy in Addis Ababa. Amid international diplomats and presumably high-ranking Ethiopian officials, they performed Styrian songs and folk dances. The plan worked and enabled them to continue their journey. Some later fought in the Spanish Civil War or against the Nazis.
Based on travel reports of Eichholzer and others, Felix Hafner and his ensemble create a performance that expands upon the absurd potential of this soirée. It explores the tensions between folk culture and internationality, authenticity and self-exoticization, and draws a line to the political reality of today.
Felix Hafner (1992, Voitsberg, Austria) is a theater director and actor. His productions have been shown at Volkstheater Wien, Landestheater Niederösterreich, Sankt Pölten; Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck; steirischer herbst; and Schauspielhaus Graz. He has also collaborated with the Institut für Medien, Politik und Theater and the FRANZ Pop Collective. In 2017, he received the Nestroy Prize as best male newcomer. His production Gondelgeschichten (2023) was invited to the Radikal jung Festival at Münchner Volkstheater. He lives in Vienna.
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
In cooperation with Kunsthaus Graz
13.10., 19:30
In German
Kunsthaus Graz
Lendkai 1
8020 Graz ♿
18/14 euros
Duration: ca. 70 min.
Director: Felix Hafner
Musical direction: Helene Griesslehner
Stage and costumes: Georg Klüver-Pfandtner
With: Tim Habe, Mareika Kremser, Juliane Linner, Clemens Nussgraber, Roswitha Ranz, Ipek Yüksek
With special thanks to Heimo Halbrainer
Commissioned and produced by steirischer herbst ’24
In cooperation with Kunsthaus Graz