Stages and spaces of the zeitgeist

Whether in the great outdoors or in some friendly corner of urban scenery, there as well as there are special places, open or self-contained spaces, which people sometimes perceive as special places of great attraction. In other words, places and spaces where one can draw strength, find spiritual inspiration, positive impulses and mental diversion.

The renowned Innsbruck journalist and author Susanne Gurschler explores the secret of two culturally diverse city centres in her latest publication "Zwei Bühnen, achtmal Kultur" (Two stages, eight times culture), which was recently published by Tyrolia Verlag.

Illustrated with atmospheric photographs by Günther Richard Wett, the graphically extremely appealing brochure is dedicated to the stories surrounding the creation "from the Theater am Landhausplatz to the Brux and from the Kellertheater to the Fotoforum West"

Susanne Gurschler's informative and entertaining journey through time begins in the exciting days of April 1971, when the newly founded Theater am Landhausplatz caused a stir with Wolfgang Bauer's stage play "Changes". Josef Kuderna, a graduate in German studies and a committed ORF employee, and his theatre group had already worked hard to bring Bauer's scandal-ridden play to the stage. Because originally they planned to perform the play at Zentrum 107 in Innstraße, but ... "The landlord, a Catholic association, told us: if you play the play, then you have to leave. So we left." (page 13) Where to? - To Wilhelm-Greil-Strasse 23, where they finally found the best conditions for their own theatre on the first floor in a room behind the Kammerlichtspielen. "Changes" was performed successfully, and at last a fresh cultural wind, so longed for by the young theatre people, swept through Tyrol's capital.

With the daring production of Peter Turrini's "Rozznjogd" in the autumn of 1972, the ambitious theatre makers around Kuderna proved they had the right feeling for their time, hit a bull's eye with the audience and in the end could look back on almost 200 performances and guest performances in several Tyrolean districts and South Tyrol

Theatre history(s) on the move in a tense time, in which intellectual friction caused sparks to fly. Klaus Rohrmoser, for example, recalls those days in retrospect: "The independent scene was more political. It was against everything that smelled of bourgeois high culture. Both in the Theater am Landhausplatz and later in the Kellertheater there were intellectual arguments about what theatre must do, what theatre can do. It was much more challenging than it is today." (page 16).

After the Theater am Landhausplatz (today Eduard-Wallnöfer-Platz) finally closed its doors in 1982, the Cineplexx took over, followed by the com./in with "Dialog im Dunklen". Finally, the city of Innsbruck adapted two floors for the Science Center Audioversum, initiated by the MED-EL company. This interactive museum show offers magnificently staged installations on the subject of hearing. And when the Free Theatre Innsbruck, long demanded by the off-scene, moved into the basement, the circle around the boards that mean the world was closed again.

But also at Adolf-Pichler-Platz things were happening at the end of the 70s. In 1979, the Krinzinger Gallery, the Forum for Contemporary Art and the Kellertheater, opened as an art and cultural centre for contemporary art. And once again, the exhibitions, performances, workshops and symposia held here received great international attention and artistic recognition beyond Tyrol's borders.

Susanne Gurschler's specific research on the flaying of two Innsbruck cultural sites offers historical facts and subtle anecdotes. She lets contemporary witnesses have their say in interviews and also provides interesting information about the origins and further development of extraordinary cultural venues, such as the Audioversum, the Brux, the Forum for Contemporary Art founded by Fritz Prior, the Krinzinger Gallery, the Kellertheater, the Fotoforum West and the impressive collection of graphics and paintings in the Antiquariat Tausch

"Two stages, eight times culture" by Susanne Gurschler, Tyrolia Verlag, 2021. With a photo reportage by Günther Richard Wett. 72 pages, 18 euros.