Overview

• Dušan David Pařízek’s co-production of Karl Kraus’s Die letzten Tage der Menschheit debuted on July 25 at the Perner-Insel in Hallein under the Salzburger Festspiele and Wiener Burgtheater partnership.
• The adaptation distills Kraus’s original 220 scenes and 200 locations into a 3-hour-15-minute performance driven by a seven-member ensemble.
• Michael Maertens leads the cast alongside Marie-Luise Stockinger, Dörte Lyssewski, Felix Rech, Elisa Plüss, Branko Samarovski and Peter Fasching in dialect-rich characterizations.
• Reviewers praised the production’s urgent, atmospheric first act but noted that post-intermission direct audience engagement disrupted the evening’s cohesion.
• After its Hallein success, the play is set to open at Vienna’s Burgtheater on September 5, 2025.