Thomas Bernhard, Heldenplatz [Heroes' Square]

Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah)

Ed. by Gerhard P. Knapp, University of Utah
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.4.2: German-language Writing and Culture: Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, 800-present.
Vol. editors: Gerhard P. Knapp (University of Utah), Jennifer Marston William (Purdue University), Herbert Rowland (Purdue University), Jill E. Twark (East Carolina University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1988

Places

Netherlands (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

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Thomas Bernhard's last play,

Heldenplatz,

was written at the instigation of his friend and stage collaborator, German producer Claus Peymann. The flamboyant and provocative Peymann, who had recently been appointed artistic director of the Vienna Burgtheater, suggested a play commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the National Socialist annexation (“Anschluss”) of Austria in March 1938. After some hesitation, Bernhard agreed. The text was to be premièred on 14 October 1988, the hundredth birthday of the “new” Vienna Burgtheater, that most imposing of all cultural icons in Austria. Rehearsals progressed more slowly than expected; meanwhile the contents of the play were leaked to the press, and a heated public debate preceded the première: an unprecedented scandal about a drama…

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1885 words

Citation: Knapp, Gerhard P.. "Heldenplatz". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 May 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13085, accessed 19 April 2024.]

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