Check-in: Martin Finnland
Where did the idea of the play come from?
During our first meeting about the play, the topic of community arose—the hotel is a place where people from all around the world come together and interact. It’s an enormous source of inspiration itself.
The play’s characters all had colors for last names, like Caroline Green and Sammy Silver. How did that idea come about?
I went to bed, woke up the next day and suddenly it appeared to me that if you mix all colours, you’ll get brown. And by saying this, on another level it was already clear that Max Brown is not a person, but the collection of all of [these characters]. This really felt right and beautiful from the beginning.
See all the photos from the night here.
You’re not only writing the plays, but also acting yourself, right?
I try to act at least once a year. I think it’s really important to experience yourself within the scope of a play and to see the reactions of the audience, to experience the play from all point of views.
With your plays, you bring people together for unique experiences. Is that what draws you to your job?
Absolutely. I love the social component of Stadtabenteur. In German, we have the saying “Durch’s Reden kommen die Leute zusammen,“ which means “talking brings people together.“ It was one of our main mottos for “All About…”, but we also live that in real life, so it made [this play] quite natural and easy for us.
What is it about experiential theatre that specifically attracts you?
Immersive theatre is a really fascinating art of [emotionally moving] people. We’re not used to being moved anymore. We all spent the last 10 years on the World Wide Web, we’re fit when it comes to social media, but [we struggle] when it comes to interacting with real people anymore, being confronted with situations where you need to actually listen to yourself and feel your own boundaries again.
How do you see Vienna in a creative sense on an international level? How open are Viennese people to interactive plays like “All About…”
I went on a bike journey around the world for an entire year, and when I came home, I knew that the city I like the most is Vienna. The quality of living is incomparable. That we are always a little behind on a creative level, that might be true. But I believe that creativity also grows out of grievance. Vienna is quite open to trends, and when it comes to projects like Stadtabenteur, an immersive theatre, Vienna is quite upfront.
About Stadtabenteuer
Stadtabenteuer develops tailormade projects with clients, ultimately creating unique experiences.
