Jewish Theater of Austria

Vienna was once home to the most active Jewish theater scene in ‘western' Europe. Founded in 1999, the Jewish Theater of Austria is the first company of its kind since the destruction of Austrian Jewish life and culture in 1938. An artistic and cultural phenomenon that recalls a brief but great tradition, it is an important and exciting development not just for Austria, but for all of Europe.

With the interpretation of timely themes, the Jewish Theater of Austria makes a visible contribution to intercultural and interreligious dialogue and acceptance one that has been missing from the Austrian arts and cultural landscape until now. At the same time, it counts among the first professional, ongoing Jewish theater undertakings in Western Europe in over sixty years.

A notforprofit "Theater of Responsibility," the Jewish Theater of Austria enables the reintegration of Jewish culture as a part of Austrian culture. At the same time, it offers an antidote against ignorance and intolerance in a thoughtprovoking and entertaining atmosphere.

On tour at home and abroad, the Jewish Theater of Austria produces and presents the work of international artists, and develops new works for a 21st Century European Jewish repertoire. A dedicated core of artists and organizers works closely together with invited international artists on innovative approaches to interpreting contemporary Jewish experience on stage.

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Past and current programming includes, or has included, works by Harald Havas, Huda AlHilali, Fritz Hochwälder, David Mamet, Karen Malpede, Grace Paley, Warren Rosenzweig, Ari Roth, Dagmar Schwarz, and George Tabori, alongside numerous performance events in Vienna, Graz, Innsbruck, and elsewhere.

Since April 2004, the company has also been developing a new ensemble of young actors IJTE, the International Jewish Theater Ensemble. Since September 2001, the Jewish Theater of Austria has also been working for the reestablishment of Oskar Marmorek's international Jewish Theater in the Nestroyhof. This is an unusually important endeavor that also needs international financial and moral support: www.jta.at/billboard.

From the beginning, the critically acclaimed work of the Jewish Theater of Austria has been made possible with generous, enthusiastic support from the local governments of the City of Graz and the Province of Styria, but also from diverse institutional and private sponsors. In return, the Jewish Theater of Austria makes an important contribution to cultural diversity.

Artistic direction
Warren Rosenzweig

Management
Sonja Rosenzweig
office@jta.at

Styrian office
Heinz D. Anderwald

New York Representative
Jacob Lasky
jtanewyork@aol.com

Honorary Members
Paul Chaim Eisenberg
Tony Kushner
Ariel Muzicant
Joanna Nittenberg
Grace Paley
Robert Schindel
Christoph Schönborn
Joshua Sobol
Simon Wiesenthal

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