Tribune Linz

“Sex in Linz”: A cleaning lady in the peep show

Bettina Buchholz during her stage solo

(Bild: Reinhard Winkler)

A short history of sex work: actress Bettina Buchholz and Johannes Neuhauser (author and director) from the cultural association Etty address the topic of "Sex in Linz" at the Theater Tribüne. The documentary aims to take sex work out of the dirty corner, which is only partially successful.

The venue for the performance, which is billed as a real-life satire with heart, humor and depth, is ideally chosen. Before the Landestheater and then the Tribüne moved in, "das Eisenhand" was Upper Austria's first sex movie theater. This is where the story of the Saxon cleaning lady, a "cleaning great in the erotic industry", played by Bettina Buchholz, begins.  

She takes stock: she not only kept the movie theaters clean, but also the cabins in Austria's first peep show. She knew the scene, for example the brothel manager Ms. Eva, who campaigned for the rights of sex workers. She witnessed how the sex business shifted to the brothels and how dollhouses changed the milieu as a new trend.

Striking events are left out
She takes stock of her retirement with videos and intellectual side trips to the Lauda Air crash in Bangkok. Some things are abbreviated or left out completely, such as the street prostitution on Pfarrplatz or a sensational murder in the milieu. 

The intention of the theater documentary is only revealed in the last third of the performance. It wants to take sex work out of the dirty corner and draw attention to the commendable work of the Caritas counseling center Lena for people who are or were active in sex work. A noble cause!

But the question remains as to whether a theater audience is the right address for this. The guest performance at the Tribüne Linz can still be seen on 22.11., 30.11., 5.12. and 13.12.