Paul Winkler

“Get a taste of my future!”

"Sparks" at the Theater der Jugend: Paul Winkler as Shawn (ga. right) with Mino Samuel Dreier as Malte and Una Nowak as Twinkle

(Bild: TDJ/Rita Newman)

This summer, 24-year-old actor Paul Winkler wowed audiences as the substitute "Death" in Salzburg's "Jedermann" - now he is celebrating the premiere of his award-winning play "Funken" at the "Theater der Jugend". We asked him to talk to us!  

"What does it mean to be different?" - is one of the central questions that "Funken", the award-winning play by 30-year-old German author Till Wiebel, revolves around. The setting: a mysterious summer camp for highly gifted young people, known as "nerds", all outsiders who discover that they are puppets of the ominous Arthur McPush Cooperation: Elon Musk sends his regards!

Paul Winkler as "Death" at the Salzburg Festival with "Jedermann" Philipp Hochmair

(Bild: Salzburger Festspiele/Monika Rittershausen)

Paul Winkler, who plays the leading role of the "enfant terrible" Shawn, is right in the middle of it all: "It's a very exciting, contemporary play. It's about friendship, cohesion - and the 'nerds' who don't quite know how they fit into society," says the 24-year-old actor in the "Krone" interview, "and it touches on many topics such as self-discovery, self-empowerment, but also the diversity of our society!"

"Sparks" is exactly the play that he always wanted as a child or teenager, says Winkler: "I can still remember myself very well at that time, when I felt like I was the only homosexual person at school. I knew something was different. And I knew I didn't quite fit in and I tried desperately to somehow belong and fit in. What this play teaches you is that we are all special in our own way and that is what makes us special as a society. That we learn to celebrate our peculiarities and to emphasize what makes us special and not want to be like the others!" Postscript: "'Spark' is not just for young people. Adults will also have an equally special and enjoyable evening!"

What is "Funken" about?

At the vacation camp of the ominous Arthur McPush Cooperation, the country's brightest young minds come together in a world without adults. The only problem is that Malte Schröder is the most average 13-year-old imaginable. He has never felt so mediocre and out of place. Fortunately, he meets the enfant terrible Shawn Baker, the universal genius Twinkle and the accomplished mechanic Isilda.

The four of them soon find out that the Cooperation has its own agenda. They are being used to realize a crazy plan for the future. Now every single one of them counts to stand up to the cunning Cooperation.

Director Karin Drechsel stages this exciting story about the adventures of a group of young eccentrics.

The Austrian premiere for young people aged 11 and over and adults will take place onOctober 15at Vienna's Theater im Zentrum .

Info: tdj.at

Paul Winkler will soon be leaving the "Theater der Jugend" talent factory behind him: When he sensationally stepped in for the ill "Tod" in Salzburg's "Jedermann" this year, it was "a magical moment for him to suddenly be on the big stage in a leading role". One thing made him particularly proud: "To see that I have what it takes for the big roles on the big stages. It was like getting a taste of what my future could hold!"