The Histrionic

In The Histrionic, Bille Brown lets rip as the highly strung Bruscon, a once-feted star of the stage who has taken a spectacular fall from grace and is now reduced to playing in a backwater Austrian town. The charismatic showman remains determined however that he will present his greatest work. But first he must rant, cajole and exhaust himself while bullying his own children, belittling his wife, snidely haranguing his hosts and wallowing in self-pity -  all the while railing  against provincialism, national failure, the vapidity of the young, the venality of the old, the tyranny of the past, the banality of the present, and on and on …  Rarely performed outside Europe, the play is by revered Austrian playwright, Thomas Bernhard, adapted by STC associate director Tom Wright and directed by Daniel Schlusser making his STC debut. An outstanding cast also includes the extraordinary Barry Otto as the inn keeper.

Andrew: It’s written by a man named Thomas Bernhard who is the second-most performed playwright in Germany after Bertolt Brecht (we’re told on good authority). Rarely performed here.

Cate: I don’t think he’s ever been done here.

Andrew: Well this hasn’t for sure. His most common occupation is wicked, wicked misanthropy.

Cate: We’re working with Daniel Schlusser who’s worked a lot in Melbourne. Really, really interesting director – it’s his first time with the company which we’re really excited by. And Tom Wright’s doing the adaptation – he did a great job on the Oresteia. He really gets his hands in and disembowels the piece and shoves it back in together.

(Painting: Ben Quilty)