with Eva Jantschitsch and Knarf Rellöm, Lugner City, 2019

The world had its 1968; in Vienna, the revolution took place a little later, in 1976. The blame lies with the Vienna Festival, the Schmetterlinge, and all the squatters of the former Sankt Marx slaughterhouse. It was there that the play “Proletenpassion” was staged in 1976, in which the Viennese political folk group Schmetterlinge brought the history of workers’ struggles to the stage in collaboration with lyricist Heinz Rudolf Unger and director Dieter Haspel. After the final performance at the end of June 1976, the abattoir – which was due to be demolished and put to commercial use – was occupied for months, with demands for it to be converted into an alternative cultural centre. Although the original venue was ultimately demolished as planned, the city turned the smaller domestic abattoir into a replacement venue, which remains in use to this day. In 1977, Die Schmetterlinge produced a triple album featuring the songs from ‘Proletenpassion’, and the accompanying tours were also acclaimed in Germany. In early 2015, director Christine Eder brought it back to the theatre stage and, at Werk X, created an impressive and rousing reinterpretation of the material with “Proletenpassion 2015 ff”. The music was also given a radical revamp: Eva Jantschitsch, alias Gustav, teamed up with the Hamburg musician Knarf Rellöm to give the historical lyrics a completely new sound. As with the original, there is also a concert version; from 21 to 23 June, “Proletenpassion on Tour” will be performed over three evenings at the Arena.

with Eva Jantschitsch and Knarf Rellöm, Lugner City, 2019

The world had its 1968; in Vienna, the revolution took place a little later, in 1976. The blame lies with the Vienna Festival, the Schmetterlinge, and all the squatters of the former Sankt Marx slaughterhouse. It was there that the play “Proletenpassion” was staged in 1976, in which the Viennese political folk group Schmetterlinge brought the history of workers’ struggles to the stage in collaboration with lyricist Heinz Rudolf Unger and director Dieter Haspel. After the final performance at the end of June 1976, the abattoir – which was due to be demolished and put to commercial use – was occupied for months, with demands for it to be converted into an alternative cultural centre. Although the original venue was ultimately demolished as planned, the city turned the smaller domestic abattoir into a replacement venue, which remains in use to this day. In 1977, Die Schmetterlinge produced a triple album featuring the songs from ‘Proletenpassion’, and the accompanying tours were also acclaimed in Germany. In early 2015, director Christine Eder brought it back to the theatre stage and, at Werk X, created an impressive and rousing reinterpretation of the material with “Proletenpassion 2015 ff”. The music was also given a radical revamp: Eva Jantschitsch, alias Gustav, teamed up with the Hamburg musician Knarf Rellöm to give the historical lyrics a completely new sound. As with the original, there is also a concert version; from 21 to 23 June, “Proletenpassion on Tour” will be performed over three evenings at the Arena.