work
in
progress
work
in
progress
With
text
dramaturgy
stage
costumes
With
text
dramaturgy
stage
costumes
Sheep in the Dry




based on the bestselling novel by Anke Stelling
"Don't worry, I am not complaining. It's my own fault.
Why did I have all these children?"
Premiere on January 13, 2025 | Theater Drachengasse, Vienna
Resi is a writer, a woman and comes from a modest background. She has four children with the visual artist Sven and lives in the middle of the city, subletting a large apartment in an old building. Money is not so important to the family. They manage quite well.
It's only when their tenancy agreement is unexpectedly terminated that it hits Resi like a ton of bricks: they're out. Out of the apartment. Out of the city center. Out of the clique, whose more privileged members have long since moved on to their own properties. Suddenly Resi no longer finds herself an up-and-comer, but an outsider. She becomes the unwanted protagonist of a class struggle that she never really wanted to acknowledge. Perhaps she was stupid, naive, too gullible. Maybe she simply fell in?
Resi conquers her inner shame at the self-diagnosis of “lower class”. And then she is seized by rage. She is determined to enlighten her children now and turns directly to her eldest daughter Bea, whether she likes it or not. She talks about the promise of an alternative life and ending up in her own parents' everyday lives. About the dream of equal opportunities that was shattered at some point. About the self-empowerment that promises the individual the ability to realize their own ideals against all external superpowers.
Together with Anna Gschnitzer, Isabella Sedlak transforms Anke Stelling's multi-award-winning, caustic parable on social inequality and classism into a fast-paced, unconventional play.
press
“Schäfchen im Trockenen” is a play that brings contemporary social discourse to the stage with energy. Sedlak and Gschnitzer have created a captivating theatrical experience that is characterized by excellent acting and complexity.
Der Standard, 16. 01. 2025
Stelling tells of today's class struggle, of the hopelessness of an increasingly disappearing middle class. Sedlak conveys this in her pared-down direction. She divides the text between her excellent ensemble (Barča Baxant, Melina von Gagern, Edwarda Gurrola, Bettina Schwarz). All are Resi, but also speak other characters. With songs by Bruce Springsteen and other hits from the 80s interwoven into the text, they shout out their anger. In the end, they are left with hope - and a sense of helplessness. One can only join in the enthusiasm of the premiere audience.
Kurier, 15.1.2025
credits
with
Barča Baxant
Melina von Gagern
Edwarda Gurrola
Bettina Schwarz
Original Text Anke Stelling
Stage Adaptation Isabella Sedlak, Anna Gschnitzer
Director Isabella Sedlak
Stage + Costume Karoline Bierner
Music Philipp Pettauer
Stage Illustrations Deniz Beşer
Choregraphy + Assistant Hannah Zauner
Intern Jules Werner
Rights with Verlag der Autoren, Frankfurt am Main
Rights of book edition with Verbrecher Verlag, Berlin