A grotesque and hilarious classic about life's disappointments, dreams and brutality
In The Presidents, we meet the cleaning ladies Erna, Grete and Mariedl around the kitchen table in a basement flat. Here, they take us on a journey from life's disappointments and bitterness to their dreams, longings and fantasies. From their kitchen table, they unfold the whole world – a descent into the depths of European culture, from religion to politics, from the history of ideas to the grotesque body. What unfolds is humanity's escape from a dirty and unbearable reality into a beautiful, dreamlike fantasy world – told with burlesque humour, linguistic playfulness and great compassion for the small human being.

With the rise of right-wing populist and neo-fascist movements across Europe, it is once again time to revisit the works of European theatre's enfant terrible – the Austrian playwright and 1990s star Werner Schwab. He grew up in poverty in Graz, in an Austria that repressed the horrors of Nazism and silenced the abuses of the church. His entire body of work was marked by a determination to expose hypocrisy, double standards and the dark forces lurking beneath the surface.

The Presidents made him a rock star of the theatre world – a fearless dramatist who wrote sixteen plays in just four years before drinking himself to death at the age of 35. His grotesque humour, rich language and merciless social critique made him one of the most talked-about artists of the 1990s. His unique way of writing later became known as "Schwabian" – inventing words, writing deliberately incorrect sentences, and playing freely with syntax, puns and expression. An enormous talent who died far too young – the Kurt Cobain of theatre.

Now, Kilden Teater stages Schwab's explosive debut under the direction of Marie Nikazm. Known for her strong visual style and ability to create intense, playful and uncompromising stage expressions, she brings new life to this satirical masterpiece – as brutal, moving and relevant today as ever.