2024 THE CHOSEN ONE

set design for THE CHOSEN ONE, at Theater am Werk (Vienna/A), directed by Yosi Wanunu

Performers: Susanne Gschwendtner, Markus Zett, Anat Stainberg, Florian Tröbinger, Barca Baxant
Live Band: Didi Kern, Philipp Quehenberger, Michael Strohmann
Music by Michael Strohmann
Set Design: Paul Horn
Written and directed by Yosi Wanunu
Produced by Kornelia Kilga

photos: Sandra Fockenberger

Stage Documentary

The Chosen One performance tells the story of Amelie Bauer, an Austrian rising star leftist politician who operated at the outset of the new millennium and whose sudden disappearance still haunts her most fervent followers. Ms. Bauer’s speaking technique, singing voice, and approach, often referred to as “The most radical leftist method in the world,“ fused classical Marxist and Socialist doctrines all scored with the popular sounds of the happy 1960s. Her brand of the ‘new left’ infused even the most minor political thought with sex, death, and the pursuit of happiness.

If you are scratching your head trying to remember who Amelie Bauer is, don’t bother. It’s a ‘fake’ plot. We will craft her legacy as a 21st-century leftist political guru with the help of ‘found text’ from journals, diaries, news clips, and other historical material, all made up by us. Some of this material will be based on historical documents adapted to sound like Amelie Bauer’s doctrine.

The conceit of The Chosen One is that we are reenacting Amelie Bauer’s life in Austria, including her final speech before she vanished. Her sudden and unexpected departure left her followers struggling to find direction and reaffirm their commitment to the cause. While dealing with her disappearance, we see her small inner team trying to deal with losing their guru. It is a metatheatrical meditation on collectivity, faith, and trust. While telling her story, it should become clear that Amelie Bauer’s political group members must look to each other, rather than outside themselves, for direction and approval.

The Chosen One will alternate between interior monologues, group interactions, diaries, and letters from political team members, expressing a sense of desperation, inadequacy, and frustration inherent in creating a meaningful political movement for the country.

By the way, there are rumors that Amelie Bauer still lives in an unknown place and runs the Institute for Radical Life or IRL.

Text: Toxic Dreams