Kleines Theater THE TOBACCONIST

Austria, 1937: 17-year-old Franz Huchel leaves his home village to seek his fortune in Vienna as an apprentice in a ‘Trafik’ – a small tobacconist’s and newsagent’s. One day, whilst there, he meets a regular customer, Sigmund Freud, and is immediately fascinated by him. Over time, an unusual friendship develops between the two very different men. When Franz soon afterwards falls head over heels in love with the variety show dancer Anezka, he seeks advice from the elderly professor. It soon becomes clear, however, that the world-famous psychoanalyst finds the female sex at least as much of a mystery as Franz does. Both also feel powerless in the face of the dramatically escalating political and social situation.

The upheavals of growing up collide with the political upheavals of the world. Franz wonders: ‘Have I gone mad? Or has the world gone mad?’

Just as formative for Franz is his encounter with the upright tobacconist Trsnjek, who shows him how important it is to stand up for humanity – even in the face of the increasingly evident ugly face of fascism.

‘One has blood on his hands, and the others just stand there and say nothing. That’s how it always is.’

When this compelling novel by the Austrian author Robert Seethaler was published in 2012, it became a bestseller and the reviews were full of superlatives. The book has now reached nearly 40 print runs, has been translated, and adapted for the cinema. Seethaler, who is from Vienna, lives in Berlin.

By Robert Seethaler
Directed by Axel Weidemann
Starring Matthias Freihof | Andreas Nickl | Jan Wenglarz | Selena Bakalios | Lisa Julie Rauen | Matthias Rheinheimer