Leon Epp (born 29 May 1905 in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

; died 21 December 1968 in

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074. In the Habsburg ...

) was an Austrian music director, theatre director and actor.

Career

In 1928, aged 22, Epp featured in ''Endangered Girls'' (Gefährdete Mädchen), a 1928 Austrian silent

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, directed by

Hans Otto Löwenstein Hans Otto Löwenstein (1881–1931) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter of the silent era.Zipes p.169 Selected filmography * '' Emperor Charles'' (1921) * '' The Ragpicker of Paris'' (1922) * ''Modern Marriages'' (1924) * ''Colonel Red ...

and starring

Max Landa Max Landa ( be, Макс Ландаў; 24 April 1873 – 8 November 1933; born Max Landau) was a Russian-born Austrian silent film and stage actor. Career Landa attended the Handelsakademie (commercial academy) in Vienna and took classes with a ...

, Cilly Feindt and

Hermine Sterler Minna Stern (20 March 1894 – 25 May 1982), known professionally as Hermine Sterler, was a German-American actress whose career spanned both the silent and the talkie film eras on two continents. Career Sterler, who appeared in several Ho ...

Island Theater

After working as an actor in Teplitz-Schönau and on many German stages, Epp founded The Island theater in 1937. It was located at Parking 6 in Vienna, in a hall of the Palais Eugen. It opened on 20 September 1937 with

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

's ''The Guarantor''. The theater featured authors such as

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

(''Plutos and The Peace''), Goldoni and

Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist * Michael Angelo Pergolesi, 18th-century Italian decorative artist {{Surname Italian-langu ...

(''The Music Master''). On 12 March 1938, the theatre was occupied by the German SS and closed. Epp occasionally directed the Deutsches Volkstheater (alongside director

Walter Bruno Iltz Walter Bruno Iltz (17 November 1886 – 5 November 1965) was a German, stage actor, drama producer and theatre manager. Life Provenance and early years Walter Bruno Iltz was born at Praust (as Pruszcz was known) before 1945), a small manuf ...

), where he also appeared as Christopher in 1938 in

Johann Nestroy Johann Nepomuk Eduard Ambrosius Nestroy (; 7 December 1801 – 25 May 1862) was a singer, actor and playwright in the popular Austrian tradition of the Biedermeier period and its immediate aftermath. He participated in the 1848 revolutions an ...

's ''

Einen Jux will er sich machen ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' (1842) (''He Will Go on a Spree'' or ''He'll Have Himself a Good Time''), is a three-act musical play, designated as a Posse mit Gesang ("farce with singing"), by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy. It was adapte ...

''. From 1939 to 1941 Epp became partners with Rudolf Haybach, the head of The "Comedy", a theatre group based in Johannesgasse 4 (later renamed the Metro cinema). The ensemble of "Die Kömödie" included

Elisabeth Epp Elisabeth Eschbaum (26 January 1910 - 29 October 2000) was a German actress. She appeared in more than twenty films from 1949 to 1992. Selected filmography References External links * 1910 births 2000 deaths German film actresses

, Helmut Janatsch, Hans Brand and a young

Josef Meinrad Josef Meinrad (21 April 1913 – 18 February 1996) was an Austrian actor. From 1959 until his death in 1996, Meinrad held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor — each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, ju ...

. By March 1940, "Die Komödie" had staged ten world premieres for a total of 241 performances and ten guest appearances. The "Comedy" opened in February 1940 with Heinrich Zerkaulen's ''The Rider'' under Epps' direction; he also portrayed

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–160 ...

, "one of the most interesting and impressive theatre evenings of the season" (

Weltbild Weltbild Publishing Group (german: Verlagsgruppe Weltbild) is a major German publisher and media retailer based in Augsburg. It is partner of the holding company DBH Deutsche Buch Handels GmbH & Co. KG and itself it is owned by the dioceses o ...

). In 1941 a young

Oskar Werner Oskar Werner (; born Oskar Josef Bschließmayer; 13 November 1922 23 October 1984) was an Austrian stage and cinema actor whose prominent roles include two 1965 films, '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold'' and ''Ship of Fools''. Other notable ...

debuted in

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

's ''The Golden Fleece''. In 1941, The "Comedy" suffered financial problems, and was sold to the German Labor Front. Epp was unemployed until 1944. After the war, Epp wanted to found a theater called "Die Insel", managed by the members of The "Comedy" in Johannesgasse. City Council member

Viktor Matejka Viktor Matejka (4 December 1901 – 2 April 1993) was a Viennese politician and writer. He spent most of the Hitler years as a detainee at one of two concentration camps. In the summer of 1943 inmates at Dachau presented a satirical focusing ...

granted the concession and the theatre, renamed by Epp to "Die Insel in der Komödie", opened on 18 October 1945 with ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

'' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

. The capacity was 453 seats. Regarding the theatre

wrote:

The theater "Die Insel in der Komödie" is to be opened as a stage adapted to the needs of a cosmopolitan city, placing itself at the service of poetry and performing all the dramas of world literature, which for budgetary reasons are not seen on other Viennese stages does not Performance of which is particularly close to the care of the modern psychological and problematic drama, as an experimental stage for works of modern dramatic literature.

Epp briefly leased the Renaissance Theater in Vienna in 1948 as an additional venue for light fare. However, the expected revenue did not appear and Epp gave the Renaissance Theater in 1949 to

Paul Löwinger Paul Löwinger (10 November 1904 – 17 December 1988) was an Austrian actor, theatre manager and writer. While still a child, he performed on his parents' stage, the Löwinger Bühne. In 1938 they were probably the first theatre ensemble which ...

. Epp then staged as an independent director at the

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (literally:"Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater"), originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in Vi ...

Vienna Volkstheater (1952-1968)

From 1952 to 1968, Epp directed the Vienna Volkstheater. He staged plays by contemporary dramatists such as

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...

Sean O'Casey Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

Thornton Wilder Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — a ...

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most of ...

Jean Anouilh Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an ad ...

John Osborne John James Osborne (12 December 1929 – 24 December 1994) was an English playwright, screenwriter and actor, known for his prose that criticized established social and political norms. The success of his 1956 play ''Look Back in Anger'' tra ...

Heinar Kipphardt Heinar Kipphardt (8 March 1922 - 18 November 1982) was a German writer. He came to prominence with the documentary theatre during the 1960s. He is best known for '' In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer'', a dramatization of the Oppenheimer securi ...

and great classical productions as well as many new Austrian literature premiers. The motto of the theatre was "It must be dared". Some of the premieres caused quite a stir, such as the staging of

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

's ''The Dirty Hands'' (1954/55), which the author tried to prevent with a trip to Vienna, because, in his opinion, it was outdated. In the 1962/63 season, Volkstheater ventured with ''Mother Courage and her children'' by

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...

. Under the leadership of

Hans Weigel Julius Hans Weigel (29 May 1908, Vienna – 12 August 1991, Maria Enzersdorf) was an Austrian Jewish writer and a theater critic. He lived in Vienna, except during the period between 1938 and 1945, when he lived in exile in Switzerland. He ...

and

Friedrich Torberg Friedrich Torberg (16 September 1908, Vienna, Alsergrund – 10 November 1979, Vienna) is the pen-name of Friedrich Kantor, an Austrian writer. Biography He worked as a critic and journalist in Vienna and Prague until 1938, when his Jewish he ...

in the so-called "Brecht Boycott " most theatres were closed. The press discussed the Volkstheater's "blockade breakers" premiere on 23 February 1963, with

Dorothea Neff Dorothea Neff (21 February 1903 – 27 July 1986) was a Vienna stage actress during the 1930s. Neff helped hide her Jewish friend Lilli Wolff, after she received resettlement orders from the Nazis to leave Vienna. To confuse the Gestapo, Neff wrote ...

and directed by

Gustav Manker Gustav Manker (March 29, 1913 – July 7, 1988 in Vienna) was an Austrian theatre and TV film director and stage designer. From 1968 to 1979 he was the director of the Volkstheater in Vienna. His TV films include ''Das Konzert '' (1971), ''Gege ...

, who also appeared in ''The Caucasian Chalk Circle''. The next season, the deputy of

Rolf Hochhuth Rolf Hochhuth (; 1 April 1931 – 13 May 2020) was a German author and playwright, best known for his 1963 drama ''The Deputy'', which insinuates Pope Pius XII's indifference to Hitler's extermination of the Jews, and he remained a controversial ...

in Austrian premiere started fights in the floor. Epp interrupted the premiere in order to go on stage and announce:

Anyone attending this performance may ask themselves if he was somehow complicit in the things described here.

1961 featured

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...

's ''

The Balcony ''The Balcony'' (french: Le Balcon) is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It is set in an unnamed city that is experiencing a revolutionary uprising in the streets; most of the action takes place in an upmarket brothel that functions as a ...

.'' In 1963 Genet's ''The Walls'' was premiered, both times in the decor of the artist Hubert Aratym. A Wedekind cycle was featured as were classics from

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

and

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friendsh ...

. Epp had special interest in the Austrian folk plays of

Ludwig Anzengruber Ludwig Anzengruber (29 November 1839 – 10 December 1889) was an Austrian dramatist, novelist and poet. He was born and died in Vienna, Austria. Origins The Anzengruber line originated in the district of Ried im Innkreis in Upper Austria. Lu ...

and

Ferdinand Raimund Ferdinand Raimund (born Ferdinand Jakob Raimann; 1 June 1790 – 5 September 1836, Pottenstein, Lower Austria) was an Austrian actor and dramatist. Life and work He was born in Vienna as a son of Bohemian woodturning master craftsman Jako ...

. featuring actors

Karl Skraup Karl Skraup (31 July 1898 – 2 October 1958) was an Austrian stage and film actor. From 1947 until his death in 1958 he worked at the Volkstheater in Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = ...

Hans Putz Hans Putz (November 17, 1920 in Vienna – January 31, 1990 in Hamburg) was an Austrian actor. He had a stage career, including working at the Schauspielhaus Zürich and the Volkstheater in Vienna; he also appeared in a number of films. ...

, Hugo Gottschlich,

Fritz Muliar Fritz Muliar, born as Friedrich Ludwig Stand (December 12, 1919 – May 4, 2009), was an Austrian actor who, due to his huge popularity, is often referred to by his countrymen as ''Volksschauspieler''. Biography Born in Neubau, Vienna as the s ...

Walter Kohut Walter Kohut (20 November 1927 – 18 May 1980) was an Austrian film, television and theatre actor. He appeared in many Austrian and German films over a 30-year period and became known for playing shady characters. He became known internationally ...

, Kurt Sowinetz and Hilde Sochor. Epp staged all of

, who also directed plays there. Schiller's ''The Robber'' (1959) was a two-part simultaneous design by Manker. Austrian Modernism from

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. Biography Arthur Schnitzler was born at Praterstrasse 16, Leopoldstadt, Vienna, capital of the Austrian Empire (as of 1867, part of the dual monarchy ...

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...

Ferdinand Bruckner Ferdinand Bruckner (born Theodor Tagger; 26 August 1891, in Sofia, Bulgaria – 5 December 1958, in Berlin) was an Austrian-German writer and theater manager. Although his works are relatively rarely revived, ''Krankheit der Jugend'' was put o ...

and

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...

appeared. The world premiere of

Helmut Qualtinger Helmut Qualtinger (; 8 October 1928 – 29 September 1986; alt. sp.: ''Helmuth Qualtinger''; birthname: ''Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qualtinger'') was an actor, writer, reciter and cabaret performer. Biography He was born Helmut Gustav Friedrich Qu ...

's ''The'' Execution (1965) was staged by Manker. Epp discovered many talents such as

Nicole Heesters Nicole Heesters (born 14 February 1937) is a German actress. She was born in Potsdam and comes from a family of actors; her parents are Johannes Heesters, a Dutch-German actor, and Louise Ghijs, a Belgian stage actress. Her husband was film ...

as '' Gigi'' (1953), Elisabeth Orth (1958) and Elfriede Irrall, who triumphed in 1961 as

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

. Guest appearances were offered by Kathe Dorsch as Elisabeth of England,

Marianne Hoppe Marianne Hoppe (26 April 1909 – 23 October 2002) was a German theatre and film actress. Life and work Born in Rostock, Hoppe became a leading lady of stage and films in Germany. She was born into a wealthy landowning family and was initiall ...

in Strindberg's

Dream Play ''A Dream Play'' ( sv, Ett drömspel) is a fantasy play in 14 scenes written in 1901 by the Swedish playwright August Strindberg. It was published in Swedish in 1902 and first performed in Stockholm on 17 April 1907. It remains one of Strindberg' ...

and

Hilde Krahl Hilde Krahl (10 January 1917 – 28 June 1999) was an Austrian film actress. She appeared in 70 films between 1936 and 1994. She was born Hildegard Kolačný in Brod, Austria-Hungary (now Slavonski Brod, Croatia) in 1917, and she died in Vien ...

as Lady Macbeth and Libussa. In 1954, Epp, together with the Chamber of Workers and employees, founded the game series "Volkstheater in the outskirts", bringing productions of the Volkstheater throughout Vienna to bring "culture into the people". After Epp's death in 1968, Manker became his successor.

Personal life

In 1936 Leon Epp married actress Elisabeth Epp. They had three sons. Epp is buried at the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 40, Number 21) beside Elisabeth.Elisabeth Epp : ''Glück auf einer Insel. Leon Epp Leben und Arbeit'', Braumüller, Vienna and others 1974, .

Filmography

* 1926: ''

The Heart of a German Mother ''The Heart of a German Mother'' (german: Das deutsche Mutterherz) is a 1926 German Silent film, silent Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Géza von Bolváry and starring Margarete Kupfer, Heinz Rühmann, and Julius Messaros. The ...

'' * 1928: ''Betrayed innocence''

Awards

* 1962: Kainz medal * 1969: Karl Skraup Prize for Best Director

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Epp, Leon 1905 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Austrian male actors Male actors from Vienna Austrian male stage actors Austrian theatre directors