Space for culture: The Bauhoftheater Braunau makes a cultural policy statement against the lack of cultural venues. A greenhouse for the ‘cultural plant’ offers a visionary response to precarious working conditions and a lack of venues in a city full of vacancies. The temporary installation shows how creative spaces can be created. A pyramid symbolises growth, transformation and stability. Visitors pick up little plants, write down visions on cards and place both in the pyramid – a lively process that involves the community. The pyramid becomes a meeting point and place for dialogue. In an interactive programme, the audience exchanges ideas with artists about the future of independent culture. As part of an interactive programme, the audience can enter into a discourse with artists about the future of independent culture.
CV
The bauhoftheater braunau was founded in 2004 as a cultural association with a focus on theatre. From 2004 to 2014, the Konventgarten in Ranshofen Castle was the main theatre venue. In 2016, the bauhoftheater moved to the centre of Braunau and established the church square as its new venue under the title ‘Braunauer Theatersommer’. After four successful productions (‘Jedermann’, ‘Krach im Hause Gott’, ‘Der Bockerer’ and ‘Dantons Tod’), the theatre returned to the Konventgarten in 2020 due to traffic restrictions on Kirchenplatz. The play ‘Shaked Shakespear(e)’ celebrated its world premiere there, in a reduced form adapted to the pandemic conditions.
From February 2019 to the beginning of 2020, the bauhoftheater ran the kinski cultural venue in Färbergasse in Braunau and organised numerous music events and readings there.
In 2021, the association presented a highly acclaimed production of William Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Despite difficult weather conditions, the family theatre play ‘The Canterville Ghost’ by Oscar Wilde and the art event ‘Art on a Building Fence’ rounded off the summer programme and enriched the regional cultural offering.
In 2022, the bauhoftheater returned to the church square in the picturesque old town of Braunau. With the comedy ‘Lysistrata’ (freely adapted from Aristophanes), the theatre once again focused on humorous entertainment. ‘The Canterville Ghost’ was performed with a new cast in the Stögerstadl (former music school). In 2023, the bauhoftheater ventured into Goethe’s masterpiece ‘Faust I’, a timeless classic. The Braunau theatre summer was complemented by the family play ‘Komm, wir finden einen Schatz’, freely adapted from Janosch, at the Herzogsburg district museum and a classical music concert on the church square. In addition to theatre, the non-profit association 2023 demonstrated its versatile skills with the revised concept for the IBK arts and crafts market. The premiere of the ‘ART.ig Market’ at Ranshofen Castle was a great success.
However, the anniversary year 2024 began with a setback: the performance of the theatre classic ‘8 Women’ had to be cancelled at short notice due to a faulty ventilation system in the Stögerstadl. Nevertheless, this was followed by highlights such as two impressive concerts and 15 sold-out performances of George Tabori’s farce ‘Mein Kampf’, which attracted around 3,000 enthusiastic visitors and received excellent reviews. At the same time, bauhoftheater actresses took visitors on a scenic tour through the history of the town in the historic rooms of the Heimathaus Braunau. The second edition of the ‘ART.ig Market’ was also a complete success.
In the 20 years of its existence, the association has brought a total of 28 plays (for adults and children), 7 guest performances, 20 concerts, 13 readings, 6 open stages, 2 arts and crafts markets, 1 art event, historical tours and numerous other musical events, ‘Auflegereien’ and readings to Braunau. Around 55,700 people have attended bauhoftheater events since 2004. In the last nine years, the non-profit association has developed from an amateur theatre to a semi-professional theatre with a cross-border focus and has since celebrated successes with a supra-regional media response.