With Franui in Gmunden

Nicholas Ofczarek with stabs into the cultural bubble

Nicholas Ofczarek and Franui filled the Burgtheater to the last seat and will be coming to Gmunden in October.

(Bild: APA/BURGTHEATER/TOMMY HETZEL)

Castle actor Nicholas Ofczarek and the music band Franui present an evening in Gmunden: Thomas Bernhard's thrill ride "Holzfällen" mixes with Bruckner and Cage. In the "Krone" talk, Ofczarek talks about scandals, excitement and his film career.

It only takes three names to emphasize the special nature of an event: Thomas Bernhard, Nicholas Ofczarek and the musicbanda Franui.

These "big three" meet on Saturday, October 26 in Gmunden to create an unforgettable evening for the Salzkammergut Festival Weeks. They are devoting themselves to "Holzfällen", Bernhard's scandalous novel.

This evening full of wit and depth has already filled the Vienna Burgtheater to the last seat - and it will still be new in Gmunden. Ofczarek sits on an armchair among the musicians and speaks Bernhard's sentences, while the musicians from Franui celebrate musical pieces by Bruckner, Cage and Mozart full of surprises.

(Bild: Nadine Poncioni Rusnov)

"Krone": Where was your first encounter with Thomas Bernhard's literature? At school or at the theater?
Nicholas Ofczarek: I became aware of him in 1988 through the so-called scandal of "Heldenplatz" at the Burgtheater. I was allowed to see the performance at the time. I was still a high school student and frankly didn't understand the outrage.

Did you get to know him personally?
Unfortunately not, he died in 1989 and I wasn't engaged at the Burgtheater until 1994. But I would have liked to have met him.

Is it difficult or easy to read Bernhard?
Franui and I have developed our very own form of performance for "Holzfällen". It's a hybrid of concert, reading and play. Precision and nuance in language and music are extremely important. In my eyes, Bernhard was a rhythmic genius.

In 1984, "Holzfällen" caused a scandal because it caricatured the art scene and people recognized themselves in it. How will the public react today? Still a scandal?
That's never predictable. I always find Bernhard's hate tirades apt on the one hand, and incredibly funny on the other.

Is it allowed to laugh when Bernhard is being recited? Or is that considered taboo because it is great literature? How do you experience it?
When something really hits the mark, it's usually funny. That's why people should and will laugh.

Please tell us which major projects for stage and film you currently have in the pipeline.
I have two film projects in the pipeline, which I'm unfortunately not allowed to talk about at the moment. But I will definitely be appearing in an Amazon Prime series and a movie in 2025.