Maria Lazar was already announced in the repertoire of the Schauspielhaus Graz in 1933, but never saw a performance in Graz - Lazar was Jewish. Now her drama Der Nebel von Dybern is being shown on an Austrian stage for the first time.
FAUST prizewinner Johanna Wehner and her artistic team stage Lazar's text as a series of fearless and moving characters - a bitter social analysis that could not be more topical. Mysterious fog billows. In the "Wirtshaus am Rand", owner Josef, pregnant Barbara, old Kathrine and rebellious factory worker Jan discuss the weather - and the rumors. When cattle and people suddenly begin to die, the fog seems to be the cause: is it a disease? Is it a test, sent by God? Or even man-made? In any case, the engineer at the nearby chemical plant denies any responsibility. When the wind shifts and drives the fog towards the village of Dybern, panic threatens the population. In the thicket of scientific and economic interests, a solution must be found quickly - no matter how monstrous.
Lazar has clairvoyantly recognized that mankind, by targeting the environment, is also always targeting itself. She writes against the human hubris that thinks it can control both nature and technology. As gripping as a thriller, the text questions the mechanisms of cause and effect: is the fog really the source of all this destruction or is it just a phenomenon?
Premiere February 9, 2024
Further performances: February 13 and 16, March 2, 14 and 20 and April 10, 2024
