FRÄULEIN ELSE

Arthur-Schnitzler-Platz 1

1070 Wien

 

Young Else T., a woman from a respectable background, is spending the summer at an elegant health resort in Trentino. She passes the time playing tennis, hiking in the mountains, and attending sophisticated dinners—until an express letter from Vienna changes everything. Her mother writes, pleadingly. Else is to—no, *must*—rescue her father from financial ruin. Having once again speculated disastrously on the stock market, he needs 30,000 gulden—and fast—or he faces social disgrace, or even prison.

Else is now expected to ask a wealthy family friend for the money: the art dealer Dorsday. Dorsday, who is considerably older than Else, is staying at the same resort hotel and frequently pays her compliments. Although she finds him repulsive, what choice does she have? The family’s good name must be preserved. Yet Dorsday recognizes the hopelessness of Else’s situation—and exploits it for a sinister game: he will only transfer the money if he is allowed to gaze at Else naked for a quarter of an hour...

First published in 1924, Arthur Schnitzler’s novella *Fräulein Else* remains, a century later, a gripping and multi-layered analysis of the abuse of power, double standards, and the commodification of the female body—written entirely as a stream of consciousness from Else’s internal perspective.

For years, actress Julia Riedler and director Leonie Böhm have harbored the idea of ​​bringing this legendary stream-of-consciousness narrative to the stage in a collaborative production—and reimagining it for the here and now. This approach is central to Leonie Böhm’s work: canonical texts serve as a starting point for establishing a new relationship with the material and for weaving in one’s own needs and ideas. Through the lens of the humorous, the playful, and the subtle, novel and empowered readings emerge.

(Source: volkstheater.at)