Albert Drach’s Dramatic Art & Edition of His Late Dramas

Albert Drach (19021995) rates among the most eminent Austrian writers of the 20th century, but is much more known for his prose fiction than for his impressive dramatic art which comprises about 30 plays. The reason therefore lies in the fact that until 2022, two thirds of these plays had been out of print for many decades and one third has never been published. In order to make Albert Drach better known as a playwright, the two main goals of this FWF-research project are the first edition of his late dramas and the edition of a study on his dramatic art. The late drama edition will complete both the already existing two-volume-drama-edition (2022) and the scholarly commented edition of his complete works by the publisher Paul Zsolnay. These eight plays link well-known narrative material such as mythological stories, fairy tales or legends to contemporary political matters and are thus called "fairy plays". They make up one of three groups of plays that can be discerned within Drach`s works. The other two groups comprise plays on historical incidents ("historical plays" or "outward disguises") or plays without a specific setting or time ("abstract plays" or "inward disguises"). The theatre texts will be edited on the basis of the final versions available in Drachs estate at the Literary Archives of the Austrian National Library. The edition will include an explanatory essay, a commentary of unknown names or places and uncommon expressions, biographical and historic information as well as a description of the texts` development and pictures of handwritten drafts. This additional commentary and snippets of the theatre texts will also be accessible online. The study on Drach`s dramatic art will be published by a specialist publisher as well as by online access. It will consist of four parts: a comparison of the three drama groups relating to style, structure and other formal elements; an outline of the most important topics and their historic and contemporary references; an analysis of the relations to other works of literature; finally, the specific comic, erotic and philosophical aspects that emphasise the political impact. This thesis will be designed to show Drach as eminent political writer. Furthermore, it will provide a profound introduction into Drach`s complete dramas and will be of use for readers, students, theatregoers, and practical theatre work. The FWF-financed research project will be conducted by Alexandra Millner with the cooperation of Eva Schobel at the Department of German Studies at the University of Vienna.