Zentralfriedhof

Death is a mistake. A mistake that Herbert Fritsch will devote himself to in ZENTRALFRIEDHOF (Central Cemetery). How can actors believably play a dying person? And why do ghost trains exist? These are some of the questions he is interested in.

Fritsch regards Vienna’s Central Cemetery, established in 1874, as much more than a final resting place. With its total area of about two square kilometres, it is the second-largest cemetery in all of Europe and something of a parallel universe. Fritsch’s fascination is not only related to the many famous artists buried here, but also to the idea that the dead live on in this place. Here lie men and women, old and young, all cultures, all levels of education and social backgrounds.

Herbert Fritsch cautiously and tenderly approaches this community of the dead. He is not as much interested in anecdotal narratives about the dead as he is in – who would have thought? – the funny side. He wants to find the humour we use to conceal our fear of death. Anyone who has ever been to a funeral or memorial ceremony knows that these gatherings are not just tragic but also have great comic potential. Fritsch wonders how the dead communicate and how a lavish funeral presents. And what life after death might look like. Maybe he can even show us a way out?