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© Clemens Kois
Unter Tieren
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August 2026 | ||||||
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Unter Tieren
Drama
Elfriede Jelinek (1946)
World premiere
‘I describe the path here, but I don’t say where it leads.‘
The paths that money carves out are inscrutable. For some, these paths climb steadily upwards; for others, they turn out to be a dead end or a trail heading towards precariousness. There seem to be no alternative routes. Money rules the world – and us, and our lives. That’s why Elfriede Jelinek, as both chronicler and Cassandra, doggedly follows its trail, sometimes even managing to stay a few decisive steps ahead.
Jelinek’s latest play, Unter Tieren (Among Animals), casts a wide net while aiming straight for the hidden depths of our deceitful and ideologically hollow society. Nothing is spared – from the Bible to ex-billionaire René Benko. The play tackles insatiable greed, slick-talking politicians and corporate bosses, pseudo-critiques of the system, and terms like social justice or equal opportunities, which nowadays seem little more than empty buzzwords. It examines how people can be bought, and ruthless, brazen acts of corruption. And, of course, an arms industry that can’t be brought down and wars that devour lives and money.
We live in an economic and financial world that, dysfunctional as it is, proves remarkably resilient – and is increasingly going to the dogs. Perhaps that’s why Elfriede Jelinek tells the never-ending story of Mammon from the perspective of animals. With growing incomprehension – but also with mounting sarcasm – bears, cows, pigs, pigeons, the Lamb of God and the ‘Für und Widder’ (think ‘pro and con[dor]’) squawk, moo, cluck and yap their way through the play, telling us about ‘notaries who notice nothing, auditors who audit sod-all, solicitors who only solicit trouble, bonds that refuse to budge, and loans with interest that have long lost interest’. Unter Tieren is a play about how we persistently work towards our own self-inflicted misery. We refuse to learn our lesson and, against our better judgement, barrel headlong into the apocalypse of capitalism. One thing is clear in Unter Tieren: the world is off its hinges, and the financial markets won’t save us.
Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek, who will celebrate her 80th birthday in 2026, shows once again with this play that she is the foremost German-language dramatist of our time. Her artistic and political radicalism has permanently revolutionized the theatre landscape. There are few directors with whom she has collaborated as consistently and successfully as Nicolas Stemann – so it’s only fitting that he is now in charge of the world premiere of Unter Tieren.
Thomas Jonigk
Program and cast
Cast
Mavie Hörbiger
Caroline Peters
Sebastian Rudolph
Thiemo Strutzenberger
Barbara Petritsch
Azaria Dowuona-Hammond
and others
Creative Team
Nicolas Stemann: Director
Katrin Nottrodt: Sets
Marysol del Castillo: Costumes
Thomas Kürstner, Sebastian Vogel: Music
Bernd Purkrabek: Lighting
Benjamin von Blomberg, Sarah Lorenz: Dramaturgy
Claudia Lehmann, Konrad Hempel: Live Video
Perner-Insel, Hallein
Perner-Insel, Hallein
“White Gold” (salt) was extracted for four thousand years near Hallein and this is what gave the region and the capital of the province its name. In 1989 the salt works were closed down. Various influential people involved in cultural life took the initiative to have the brine hall on the island in the middle of the River Salzach transformed into a theatre which is now used regularly by the Salzburg Festival. The conversion work in 1992 needed only an 80-day building period; six years later, new, more elaborate seating arrangements were installed as well as an interval area.
The hall is especially suitable for experimental theatre and concerts of contemporary music whereby the performance and audience areas can be adapted to the scenic concept of the production in question. In 1999 the marathon performances entitled Schlachten!, Luc Perceval’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s history plays, on the Perner Island achieved cult status.
How to get there
Adress & contact
Perner-Insel, Hallein
Pernerinsel, 5400 Hallein
The foyers are opened to Festival visitors one hour before the beginning of each performance.
Tel.: +43 662 8045 0
info@salzburgerfestspiele.at
Public transport
Bus stop Heidebrücke
Lines 41, 160, 170
FREE BUS SHUTTLE SERVICE
Departure in front of Reichenhaller Strasse 4
(Buses depart to Perner-Insel, Hallein, 1h before the performance begins and return directly after the performance.)
Parking
Parking place Perner-Insel
Perner-Insel, 5400 Hallein
Opening hours: daily 0-24 h
You can purchase a parking ticket for 2€ in the courtyard. By purchasing your parking ticket there, you save yourself the way to the ticket machine and can immediately drive out the parking lot following the end of the performance.
© Clemens Kois
© Clemens Kois
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