Josefstädter Theater

Marie Rötzer to manage the traditional stage from 2026

The new Josefstadt director from 2026/27: Marie Rötzer

(Bild: Stadt Wien / David Bohmann)

The "Krone" report is confirmed: St. Pölten's Landestheater director Marie Rötzer will succeed Herbert Föttinger at the Theater in der Josefstadt. From the 2026/27 season, she will be the first female director of the traditional Viennese theater shaped by Max Reinhardt.

Marie Rötzer sees "exploring the tension between tradition and the contemporary" as her main task as the new and first director of the Theater in der Josefstadt. What the "Krone" already reported last Thursday has now been officially confirmed: Rötzer, currently Intendant at the NÖ-Landestheater, will take over from Josef Föttinger in 2026/27. Stefan Mehrens, currently Administrative Director at Staatstheater Braunschweig, has been appointed as her Commercial Director. He replaces Alexander Götz.

The 56-year-old Rötzer prevailed against 22 applicants. Her contract runs for five years. She will focus on Austrian literary theater. Her question is: "What does Austrian narrative theater mean today?" How do you deal with the classics and the image of women in them? - Rötzer interprets this carefully for the present day: "To this end, we want to position Josefstadt in a contemporary way and with new artistic forms," says Rötzer.

She wants to expand the Austrian canon with "guest performances and co-productions internationally". For the Kammerspiele, she is planning "Broadway-style comedies" and "modern forms of theater with lots of music and clever entertainment" from revues to cabaret. She is committed to the ensemble as a support for all of this: "They are the face of the house." However, the form in which she takes it over is still to be decided.