Leon Epp (born 29 May 1905 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

; died 21 December 1968 in

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; ; ; or ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Austria, Austrian state of Burgenland. With a population of 15,074 (as of 2023), it is the smallest state capital and the 38th-largest city in Austria overall. It lies at the foot o ...

) was an Austrian music director, theatre director and actor.

Career

In 1928, aged 22, Epp featured in ''Endangered Girls'' (Gefährdete Mädchen), a 1928 Austrian silent

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, directed by

Hans Otto Löwenstein Hans Otto Löwenstein (1881–1931) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter of the silent era.Zipes p.169 Selected filmography * '' Emperor Charles'' (1921) * '' The Ragpicker of Paris'' (1922) * '' Modern Marriages'' (1924) * ''Colonel Re ...

and starring

Max Landa Max Landa (; 24 April 1873 – 8 November 1933; born Max Landau) was a Russian-born Austrian silent film and stage actor. Career Landa attended the Handelsakademie (commercial academy) in Vienna and took classes with acting teacher in the same ...

, Cilly Feindt and

Hermine Sterler Minna Stern (20 March 1894 – 25 May 1982), known professionally as Hermine Sterler, was a German-American actress whose career spanned both the silent and the talkie film eras on two continents. Career Sterler, who appeared in several Holl ...

Island Theater

After working as an actor in

Teplitz-Schönau Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

and on many German stages, Epp founded The Island theater in 1937. It was located at Parking 6 in Vienna, in a hall of the Palais Eugen. It opened on 20 September 1937 with

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

's ''The Guarantor''. The theater featured authors such as

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

(''Plutos and The Peace''),

Goldoni Carlo Osvaldo Goldoni (, also , ; 25 February 1707 – 6 February 1793) was an Italian playwright and librettist from the Republic of Venice. His works include some of Italy's most famous and best-loved plays. Audiences have admired the plays ...

and

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

(''The Music Master''). On 12 March 1938, the theatre was occupied by the German SS and closed. Epp occasionally directed the Deutsches Volkstheater (alongside director

Walter Bruno Iltz Walter Bruno Iltz (17 November 18865 November 1965) was a Germany, German Theatre, stage actor, drama producer and theatre manager. Life Provenance and early years Walter Bruno Iltz was born at Pruszcz Gdański, Praust (as Pruszcz was known ...

), where he also appeared as Christopher in 1938 in

Johann Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions and ...

's ''

Einen Jux will er sich machen ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' (1842) (''He Will Go on a Spree'' or ''He'll Have Himself a Good Time''), is a three-act musical play, designated as a Posse mit Gesang ("farce with singing"), by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy. It was adapt ...

''. From 1939 to 1941 Epp became partners with Rudolf Haybach, the head of The "Comedy", a theatre group based in Johannesgasse 4 (later renamed the Metro cinema). The ensemble of "Die Kömödie" included

Elisabeth Epp Elisabeth Eschbaum (26 January 1910 - 29 October 2000) was a German actress. She appeared in more than twenty films from 1949 to 1992. Selected filmography References External links * 1910 births 2000 deaths German film actresses ...

, Helmut Janatsch, Hans Brand and a young

Josef Meinrad Josef Meinrad (; 21 April 1913 – 18 February 1996) was an Austrian actor. From 1959 until his death in 1996, Meinrad held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor — each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, j ...

. By March 1940, "Die Komödie" had staged ten world premieres for a total of 241 performances and ten guest appearances. The "Comedy" opened in February 1940 with Heinrich Zerkaulen's ''The Rider'' under Epps' direction; he also portrayed

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

, "one of the most interesting and impressive theatre evenings of the season" ( Weltbild). In 1941 a young

Oskar Werner Oskar Werner (; born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer; 13 November 1922 – 23 October 1984) was an Austrian stage and cinema actor who reached international fame. His most prominent roles include two 1965 films, '' The Spy Who Came In from the Cold' ...

debuted in

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...

's ''The Golden Fleece''. In 1941, The "Comedy" suffered financial problems, and was sold to the German Labor Front. Epp was unemployed until 1944. After the war, Epp wanted to found a theater called "Die Insel", managed by the members of The "Comedy" in Johannesgasse. City Council member

Viktor Matejka Viktor Matejka (4 December 1901 – 2 April 1993) was a Vienna, Viennese politician and writer. He spent most of the Austria under National Socialism, Hitler years as a detainee at one of two concentration camps. In the summer of 1943, inmates ...

granted the concession and the theatre, renamed by Epp to "Die Insel in der Komödie", opened on 18 October 1945 with ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897, and first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre, directed by Konstan ...

'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

. The capacity was 453 seats. Regarding the theatre

wrote:

The theater "Die Insel in der Komödie" is to be opened as a stage adapted to the needs of a cosmopolitan city, placing itself at the service of poetry and performing all the dramas of world literature, which for budgetary reasons are not seen on other Viennese stages does not Performance of which is particularly close to the care of the modern psychological and problematic drama, as an experimental stage for works of modern dramatic literature.

Epp briefly leased the Renaissance Theater in Vienna in 1948 as an additional venue for light fare. However, the expected revenue did not appear and Epp gave the Renaissance Theater in 1949 to

Paul Löwinger Paul Löwinger (10 November 1904 – 17 December 1988) was an Austrian actor, theatre manager and writer. While still a child, he performed on his parents' stage, the Löwinger Bühne. In 1938, they were probably the first theatre ensemble which ...

. Epp then staged as an independent director at the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

Vienna Volkstheater (1952-1968)

From 1952 to 1968, Epp directed the Vienna Volkstheater. He staged plays by contemporary dramatists such as

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, journalist, world federalist, and political activist. He was the recipient of the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the s ...

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

Sean O'Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Hiberno-English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; angli ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes, for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'', and a U. ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; ; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist and screenwriter whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ...

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor, and entrepreneur, who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in post-war theatre. Born in London, he briefly worked as a jo ...

, Heinar Kipphardt and great classical productions as well as many new Austrian literature premiers. The motto of the theatre was "It must be dared". Some of the premieres caused quite a stir, such as the staging of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

's ''The Dirty Hands'' (1954/55), which the author tried to prevent with a trip to Vienna, because, in his opinion, it was outdated. In the 1962/63 season, Volkstheater ventured with ''Mother Courage and her children'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

. Under the leadership of

Hans Weigel Julius Hans Weigel (29 May 1908, Vienna – 12 August 1991, Maria Enzersdorf) was an Austrian Jewish writer and a theater critic. He lived in Vienna, except during the period between 1938 and 1945, when he lived in exile in Switzerland. He wa ...

and

Friedrich Torberg Friedrich Torberg (16 September 1908, Vienna, Alsergrund – 10 November 1979, Vienna) is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an Austrian writer. Biography He worked as a critic and journalist in Vienna and Prague until 1938, when his Jewish h ...

in the so-called "Brecht Boycott " most theatres were closed. The press discussed the Volkstheater's "blockade breakers" premiere on 23 February 1963, with Dorothea Neff and directed by Gustav Manker, who also appeared in ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle''. The next season, the deputy of

Rolf Hochhuth Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama ''The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...

in Austrian premiere started fights in the floor. Epp interrupted the premiere in order to go on stage and announce:

Anyone attending this performance may ask themselves if he was somehow complicit in the things described here.

1961 featured

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

's ''

The Balcony ''The Balcony'' () is a Play (theatre), play by the French people, French dramatist Jean Genet. It is set in an unnamed city that is experiencing a revolutionary uprising in the streets; most of the action takes place in an upmarket brothel that ...

.'' In 1963 Genet's ''The Walls'' was premiered, both times in the decor of the artist Hubert Aratym. A Wedekind cycle was featured as were classics from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

and

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

. Epp had special interest in the Austrian folk plays of

Ludwig Anzengruber Ludwig Anzengruber (29 November 1839 – 10 December 1889) was an Austrian dramatist, novelist and poet. He was born and died in Vienna, Austria. Origins The Anzengruber line originated in the district of Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. ...

and

Ferdinand Raimund Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein, Austria, Pottenstein, Lower Austria) was an Austrian actor and playwright. Life and work Raimund was born in Vienna as a son of Bohemian woodturn ...

. featuring actors

Karl Skraup Karl Skraup (31 July 1898 – 2 October 1958) was an Austrian stage and film actor. From 1947 until his death in 1958 he worked at the Volkstheater in Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria ...

, Hans Putz, Hugo Gottschlich,

Fritz Muliar Fritz Muliar, born as Friedrich Ludwig Stand (December 12, 1919 – May 4, 2009), was an Austrian actor who, due to his huge popularity, is often referred to by his countrymen as ''Volksschauspieler''. Biography Born in Neubau, Vienna as the s ...

Walter Kohut Walter Kohut (20 November 1927 – 18 May 1980) was an Austrian film, television and theatre actor. He appeared in many Austrian and German films over a 30-year period and became known for playing shady characters. He became known internationally ...

, Kurt Sowinetz and Hilde Sochor. Epp staged all of Gustav Manker, who also directed plays there. Schiller's ''The Robber'' (1959) was a two-part simultaneous design by Manker. Austrian Modernism from

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901 – 1 June 1938) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the ''nom de plume'' Ödön von Horváth (). He was one of the most critically admired writers of his g ...

Ferdinand Bruckner Ferdinand Bruckner (born Theodor Tagger; 26 August 1891 – 5 December 1958) was an Austrian-German writer and theater manager. Although his works are relatively rarely revived, ''Krankheit der Jugend'' was put on at the Cottesloe stage of Lo ...

and

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; January 12, 1878April 1, 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarians, Hungarian-born author, stage director, dramatist, and poet. He is widely regarded as Hungary's most celebrated and c ...

appeared. The world premiere of

Helmut Qualtinger Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qualtinger (; 8 October 1928 – 29 September 1986; also spelled Helmuth Qualtinger) was an Austrian actor, cabaret performer, writer and reciter. Biography Qualtinger was born in Vienna, First Austrian Republic, to a se ...

's ''The'' Execution (1965) was staged by Manker. Epp discovered many talents such as

Nicole Heesters Nicole Heesters (born 14 February 1937) is a German actress. She was born in Potsdam and comes from a family of actors; her parents are Johannes Heesters, a Dutch-German actor, and Louisa Ghijs, a Belgian stage actress. Her husband was film ...

as '' Gigi'' (1953), (1958) and , who triumphed in 1961 as

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

. Guest appearances were offered by Kathe Dorsch as Elisabeth of England,

Marianne Hoppe Marianne Hoppe (26 April 1909 – 23 October 2002) was a German theatre and film actress. Life and work Born in Rostock, Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy landowning family and was initial ...

in Strindberg's Dream Play and

Hilde Krahl Hilde Krahl (10 January 1917 – 28 June 1999) was an Austrian film actress. She appeared in 70 films between 1936 and 1994. She was born Hildegard Kolačný in Brod, Austria-Hungary (now Slavonski Brod, Croatia) in 1917, and she died in Vien ...

as Lady Macbeth and Libussa. In 1954, Epp, together with the Chamber of Workers and employees, founded the game series "Volkstheater in the outskirts", bringing productions of the Volkstheater throughout Vienna to bring "culture into the people". After Epp's death in 1968, Manker became his successor.

Personal life

In 1936 Leon Epp married actress Elisabeth Epp. They had three sons. Epp is buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 40, Number 21) beside Elisabeth.Elisabeth Epp : ''Glück auf einer Insel. Leon Epp Leben und Arbeit'', Braumüller, Vienna and others 1974, .

Filmography

* 1926: '' The Heart of a German Mother'' * 1928: ''Betrayed innocence''

Awards

* 1962: Kainz medal * 1969: Karl Skraup Prize for Best Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epp, Leon 1905 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Austrian male actors Male actors from Vienna Austrian male stage actors Austrian theatre directors