Sargnagel's film “Iowa” was a success in the Lower Austria State Theater

Director Mira Stadler presented the story of two artists who end up on the American pampas to stay at a college, with a lot of joy in slapstick and exaggeration. This may also be an effective way of transferring Sargnagel's sense of humor into the context of theatre. Stadler's aim was not to establish Sargnagel and her friend Christiane Rosinger as specific protagonists, but rather to focus on the text and thus sometimes divide it.

A brilliant quartet operates in this crazy mess of private sensibilities, grotesque encounters and alcoholic activities. Laura Laufenberg closely embodies the author with her facial expressions of astonishment, but without imitating her. Doris Hendinger contrasts with the present companion who also likes to add corrective footnotes and offer advice. Tobias Artner can fool the evening as a delicious comedian in all sorts of different roles, as does Julian Tszentke in a long blonde wig.

Overall, the equipment (costumes and staging: Jenny Schleif) played a big role in the success. Costumes change in sections by the minute, and the stage, bathed in an indefinable reddish-brown, features a tacky tableau and a swinging saloon door: meticulously arranged panels that both alienate and exaggerate imagined reality. Ultimately, the story of a road without a road, a rollercoaster of clichés, American and sometimes domestic as well – because clichés are everywhere and often unexpectedly similar to each other.

(By Ewald Barringer/APA)

(Service – St. Pölten, Landestheater Lower Austria: Stefanie Sargnagel, “Iowa. Journey to America”. Transcribed by Mira Stadler. Equipment: Jenny Schleif. With Tobias Artner, Laura Laufenberg, Doris Hindinger, Julian Tszentke. More shows until 5 Tickets and information: www.landestheatre.net.