History 1886 - 1932

1886

The derelict and run-down St. Anna complex is demolished along with neighbouring buildings in both the Johannesgasse and Annagasse.

1892

The site is acquired by the Viennese Association of Commerce who commissions the architects Christian Ulrich and Rudolf Dick to construct a new building. The ground floor features a sizable hall designed for conventions but also suitable for balls or theatre productions, laying the foundations for today’s Metro Kino. The two-story cellar houses meeting rooms, a bowling alley, and a restaurant together with adjoining rooms fitted with heating and ventilation appliances.

1893

On 29 May 1893 the new building is opened by the Emperor Franz Josef and Arch Duke Carl Ludwig.

1924

A theatre is constructed in the hall of the building. On 29 January 1924 the Modernes Theater opens under the direction of Robert Blum with the play "Das Weib ist bitter" by Marco Brociner. The conversion from club room to theatre, with a seating area accommodating 484 people, costs over 7 million Gulden. The interior is planned by the architect Percy A. Faber who receives praise from press and public alike for its design. The warm colours; the dominant brown of the woodwork and seats, the rich red of the carpet and furnishings, prompts the newspaper Neue Freie Presse to rave about the theatre’s "air of a private salon". On 31 January 1924 it writes, "The room commands it; indeed it’s made for the performed arts. It would be the perfect setting for dramatic subtleties." This highlights the unrivalled atmosphere of the theatre still felt today. After only one run Blum quits the theatre. Siegfried Geyer, who also heads the Neue Wiener Bühne and the Kammerspiele, becomes managing director for one season.

1925

Ludwig Körner, a former director of the Theater in der Josefstadt, takes over management of the theatre and receives a licence to run it as a "music hall". Körner, however, lacks sufficient financial resources to install a safety curtain, a standard feature in theatres and required by law. Körner is left with no choice but to step down as director after the season 1926/27.

1927

Körner’s successor, the German Rolf Jahn, is virtually unknown in the Viennese theatre scene but both an experienced director and actor in his home country. Jahn changes the name of the theatre to Die Komödie and receives a licence to operate it on the condition that the building is at last equipped with a safety curtain. The licence obtained by Jahn permits the presentation of musical pieces, narrations and dance numbers, but blocks both artistic performances and attractions. Jahn appoints Otto Ludwig Preminger as his acting director, who fills the position from 3 January 1928 to the summer of 1929. Preminger had already worked as assistant to Max Reinhardt at the Theater in der Josefstadt, and after his spell at the Komödie he goes on to manage the Josefstadt theatre until 1933. In 1935 Preminger leaves Austria for Hollywood to work as Ernst Lubitsch’s assistant. Preminger became both a successful actor and an intentionally renowned director.

1929

The dismal financial situation of the Komödie forces Jahn to search for additional ways of making money and he asks local authorities for permission to employ neon signs like those displayed at cinemas. In October 1929 he receives "a licence for the public showing of static images using sciopticons or other apparatus" which firmly states that "no moving images (films) are permitted in the projection room."

1932

Born in Prague and a former director of the Vereinigte Deutsche Bühnen in Brünn, Hans Demetz becomes director of the Komödie after operating as the theatre’s sub-letter. Rolf Jahn leaves to manage both the Deutsches Volkstheater and the Raimund-Theater. Demetz quickly finds himself in financial difficulty and is forced to shut the theatre down for a period of time. This state of affairs satisfies neither the owners of the property nor its lease-holder Jahn. Forced to quit his position, the Demetz "era" ends not even a year after it began. The theatre remains closed until August 1933.

St. Anna Complex, about 1886Modernes Theater, 1893

Modernes Theater, 1923