Images that leave an after-impression on the retina. Memories. No depictions. No templates. No real spaces. Remnants of impressions deposited in the memory – in his, in society’s. Situations, images, texts, encounters comprehended emotively. They pile up, forming a slag heap in his mind. That these images are informed by personal experience is clear. The landscapes that he mounts on stage are familiar to him, so too the malign sprites that inhabit them. He puts himself into all his sets. And with each of his spaces he demands dialogue, forces an encounter with them.

For 40 years, the multiple award-winning sets by Austria’s Martin Zehetgruber have been a major presence in the European theatre scene. This book traces his career and brings together impressions by artistic collaborators in a range of disciplines.

With contributions from Barbara Frey, Judith Gerstenberg, Heide Kastler, Christoph Klimke, Alexander Koppelmann, Martin Kušej, Georg Nigl, Nicholas Ofczarek, Andreas Schlager, Elisabeth Schweeger and Klaus von Schwerin