Production by the Ion Sava Centre for Creation and Research within the 9G program at NTB.

Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2019, Peter Handke invented, at the age of 24, a special kind of universal drama - Sprechstück (talking play) - with the publication in 1966 of Publikumsbeschimpfung, in direct translation - Offending the Audience.

Staged the same year at the Theater am Turm in Frankfurt, representing Claus Peymann's directorial debut, the play instantly attracted a huge wave of criticism for its shocking and irreverent style, which only served to propel Handke into the ranks of the outstanding writers of the last century.

In an interview in 1970, Handke stated that "At first I intended to write an essay, a pamphlet against the theatre, but then I realized that a pamphlet is not an effective way to publish an anti-theatre manifesto. So, paradoxically, the result was to do something for the stage against the stage, using theatre to protest against the theatre of the moment. I don't mean theatre as an absolute entity, but theatre as a historical phenomenon, as it is to this day."

"It has already become a tradition for the promotion of performances signed by directors (because yes, there are other kinds of performances) to include a statement by them about their artistic intentions. To remain consistent with my approach, which is by no means mine alone, but is the fruit of a collective work, of a team of four fabulous actors, supported by a technical team to match, I'll just say this: go 'see' Abusing the Audience and we'll talk about what it was afterwards. Or what it wasn't. I really hope you will talk and talk, as I am convinced that theatre still has the magical power to bring people together, setting itself apart from all the other social environments - physical and virtual - that divide us and deprive us of the opportunity to listen and understand the perspective of the person or person next to us." Edda Coza, director

Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu

Photo credit Florin Ghioca