Automatenbüfett

«It’s not at all pleasant, suddenly being rescued, is it?» Young Eva cannot resist this little retort at the end of Anna Gmeyner’s «Automatenbüfett» when she drags Mr Adam out of the fishpond. Her rescuing him bring the relationship between this pair of unequals full circle because the hobby angler and self-proclaimed visionary Adam fished Eva out of the water right at the beginning of the play. For both of them, what is supposed to be the end is actually a new beginning. Between this prologue and epilogue, Gmeyner presents her wonderful small-town satire about all the really «important» people in Seebrücken. This elite group of men gathers daily in Mrs Adam’s automated buffet, a «restaurant» where food and drink may only be available at the push of a button, but one can nevertheless argue splendidly about politics. This distinguished circle is then properly stirred up by the pretty Eva. Immediately after her arrival, her mere presence is enough to produce a marked increase in turnover, which the industrious Mrs Adam is so keen to exploit she forgets how jealous she is of the young woman. However, the vain town elders only really liven up when Mr Adam presents his revolutionary idea for factory farming fish. Then habitual opponents all start pulling in the same direction as the sweet scent of money fills the air. And who can resist that?  

In this play written in exile in Paris in 1932, Anna Gmeyner shows the larger world in microcosm – containing the prophetic words: «Europe is a powder keg and the spark to light it might fall at any moment». The Viennese author who grew up in a liberal Jewish household and whose works were forgotten for many years will now be presented on a stage in Munich for the first time by resident director Elsa-Sophie Jach.