Kammerbühne Ottenschlag – amusing guest performance: “Did I Gone With the Wind – Really Now?”

Hotel Neue Bühne Wien presented three performances for guests in Waldviertler Kammerbühne over the weekend. Bernie Norris’ new comedy Gone with the Wind – Really Now? The play has little in common with Margaret Mitchell’s novel only in that some scenes from it are simulated in the second act.

Synopsis: We are in New York in 1938. Radio station boss Gary Williams is broke and broadcasts only from a hotel room. Then he receives an unexpected visit from an unknown lady, whom he hires as an assistant for a short time, and later from a gentleman named Manolo, who is supposed to collect debts on behalf of the Mafia. Now friend Williams Jenkins has a brilliant idea to save the station from ruin: a radio play version of the most successful novel of the time – Gone With the Wind. He also has someone ready to be cast, namely his girlfriend, who once stood on stage when she was young. Williams is excited about the idea, but there’s a catch: The publisher denies the performance rights, and the injunction arrives the next day. Desperate, Williams spontaneously decided to perform and broadcast the play live on the same day. There is hardly time for preparations, only his new assistant hastily writes a short manuscript. Whoever is within reach must act as speaker – including the shop bell, his friend Jenkins, and Manolo. Actors slip into different roles—sometimes clumsy, sometimes high-strung—and take care of the sound effects with the simplest of props. Almost everything goes wrong during the live recording, and it turns into a turbulent and comical mess.

The six actors played their roles brilliantly and the entire performance was fantastic. Viewers particularly enjoyed the second act of the unsuccessful radio taping. The play will be shown three times this coming weekend. Cards: www.kammerbuehne.atTel: 02872/61221, office@kammerbühne.at.