Before the Burg premiere

Felix Kammerer – lots of new things in the film West

Felix Kammerer returns to the Burg after his film successes for "The McNeal Case".

(Bild: TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

On Saturday, the Burgtheater presents the German premiere of "Der Fall McNeal" by Aykad Akhtar. Felix Kammerer plays alongside Joachim Meyerhoff - and will probably be on a theater stage for the last time for a long time in this production.

The four performances of the premiere series have long been sold out. So if you want to see Joachim Meyerhoff and Felix Kammerer live on the Burgtheater stage in a family infight as father and son McNeal, you will have to hope for the April dates.

Kammerer fans in particular should hurry. Born in Vienna in 1995, Kammerer has been in high demand in the film business since winning an Oscar for his brilliant starring role in "Nothing New in the West". So much so that after "The McNeal Case", he is unlikely to appear on a local stage any time soon.

And this despite the fact that the theater has been his home "since I entered the profession at the age of 19, while I was still at university," he revealed in the "News" interview. But "now, nine years later, it's suddenly film, perhaps also because I've only ever known the other. But I think it's wonderful to make a brief stop at the theater."

He can't say how short it will be: "For now, it's probably the last one for a while, because new film projects are coming up that will make theater a little more difficult again."

Son & father McNeal: Felix Kammerer (left) and Joachim Meyerhoff.

(Bild: TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

Father himself, McNeal's son and Frankenstein's brother 
His Oscar success also landed him a role in Guillermo del Toro's "Frankenstein" remake. In this production, which is due to open in November, he plays Professor Frankenstein's young brother alongside Christoph Waltz.

He only appears in a letter in the original version and dies as a child. "But Guillermo del Toro has made William the great antagonist of his brother. He's in his mid-30s, about my age," says Kammerer. 

 He is enthusiastic about the Mexican film director's way of working: "The passion he has for the project demands a lot of energy and work. But you enjoy doing it because he is relaxed and caring and gives you the space to do what you are asked to do."

New projects are already waiting for the son of mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirchschlager and state opera singer Hans Peter Kammerer. There are currently four American and English films to choose from, "two or three of which are realistic".

McNeal - the play

It was only in September that "McNeal" by Aykad Akhtar was released on Broadway in New York with Robert Downey Jr. in the leading role: Jacob McNeal, a successful, narcissistic writer, greedily hopes to win the Nobel Prize for Literature and is in a serious crisis. He is plagued by physical decay, his liver is failing and his son is threatening a scandal. In addition, his fascination with AI is jeopardizing his career. Daniel Kehlmann has translated the one-act play for the German premiere, with Jan Bosse directing.

This also explains Kammerer's return to the Burgtheater, where he was brought by Martin Kušej after training at the Ernst Busch Academy in Berlin and an engagement at the Maxim Gorki Theater in 2019/20: "I basically wanted to cool down a bit after two years. And then it's important to spend time with the family. If you can work in the theater where you're at home, that's a huge blessing that you gratefully accept."

The writer in crisis also has problems with his son: Felix Kammerer and Joachim Meyerhoff

(Bild: TOBIAS STEINMAURER)

By family, he means his own: "I don't have to make a secret of the fact that I'm now a father. Otherwise I would like to remain discreet about my private life. But in any case, it has helped me to rest, take a break, sit down and breathe in the new circumstances. And then get going again," he reveals.

The fact that he can now breathe in the castle air again alongside Joachim Meyerhoff is a "huge honor" for him, because "when I started going to the theater here, he was still a member of the ensemble. I've seen everything he's ever done, including as a team with Jan Bosse. Joining such a close-knit team is something special."