Nicole Fendesack

“Shakespeare would surely be a Netflix star today”

Shakespeare in Mödling: Nicole Fendesack pulled the strings here as artistic director and stage manager for 25 years. A veritable theater festival awaits the audience as a farewell event

(Bild: Judt Reinhard)

For artistic director Nicole Fendesack, this year at Shakespeare in Mödling it's "Time to say goodbye"! After 25 years, the director and actress is handing over the sceptre.

25 years ago they started with nothing, a quarter of a century later the Shakespeare plays in the concert hall of the municipal office in Mödling have established themselves as a permanent institution in the summer theater circuit. Nicole Fendesack has been pulling the strings both on and behind the stage since 2001 - from directing to stage management to acting.

She has always rethought Shakespeare's classics: "I imagined what he would do. Shakespeare was at the cutting edge, today he would be a Netflix star," explains Fendesack in an interview with the Krone.

Fendesack with pupils in the theater workshop

(Bild: Reinhard Judt)

Joint performance with daughter Samantha (center)

(Bild: foto judt)

The offspring of the family have also performed

(Bild: Matthias Buchwald)

In Mödling, "Hamlet" and "Othello" were unceremoniously performed by women, and "A Midsummer Night's Dream" became a "sleep-over" in pyjamas. In addition, there is always live music, food and drink during the performance - just like in Shakespeare's time!

List of prominent names
And many now big names have also learned to "walk" with her: Stefanie Reinsperger, Stefan Pohl and Julia Roy - now a big star in France. "I've always taught and every year I've had acting students in Mödling. They thought it was cool," says Fendesack.

There was also regular support from her family - for example from her daughter Samantha Steppan and her grandchildren, one of whom was just three weeks old. This type of family business has made many things easier over the years. But: "Everything has its time and now it's time to call it a day," says Fendesack, looking forward to days off and new tasks: "My big goal is to learn Italian better. In Italy, of course."

Looking forward to the future
Four premieres are on the program in Mödling this year under the motto "Time to say goodbye". It starts on June 27 with "It was the Lark", followed by "Romeo & Juliet" (July 11). And even after 25 years, Fendesack is not running out of ideas: "Maybe I'll organize a spontaneous theater in the forest - as a kind of rave".