Woodcutters

After the novel Holzfällen by Thomas Bernhard, translated by David McLintock
Adapted by Sara Brown & Shira Milikowsky with contributions from Adrianne Krstansky & Lauren K. Wolfe

Performance Synopsis

Vienna, circa 1984. 
A writer returns from self-imposed exile only to learn of the death of an old friend whose funeral reunites a clique of aging avant-garde artists. At the “artistic dinner” following the funeral, the writer lurks at the perimeter of the room, taking stock of the vulgarity, pomposity, and hypocrisy of the people in whom he had once invested his youthful desire and ambition. Laden with both grief and guilt, the writer condemns the culture industry to which his friend was sacrificed, implicating not only himself but everyone else in her death.