The Last Days of Mankind (Adventure Bay Hall)

Written between 1914 and 1919, The Last Days of Mankind is Karl Kraus’s magnum opus, an examination of war, an enormous dramatic repository of his satirical themes and techniques. In the history of European drama this powerful pacifist play occupies a very special place. This award winning dramatised reading by actor Justus Neumann and musician Julius Schwing condenses this originally 10 night epic into a 70 minute virtuosic powerhouse performance.

“The action seems improbable, disjointed and heroless. The events shown in this play no matter how unlikley, actually took place. It is world war, it is my manifesto to mankind.” - Karl Kraus, 1918

DOORS: 3:30 PM

PERFORMANCE: 4:00 PM

PLEASE NOTE: this show is not recommended for children under 13 years.

JUSTUS NEUMANN

“Justus Neumann is an artist of the highest order. His work is regarded as one of the most important elements in the theatrical landscape of Vienna in the last few decades. His investigation into the “black clown” as performer, director and theatre maker has enabled Justus to develop and transform his work across different genres and diverse continents.”

Barrie Kosky, Artistic Director, Schauspielhaus Vienna, Austria

Justus Neumann is an Austrian-Australian actor, adaptor, director and theatre maker whose career has spanned decades and continents. Renowned for physically and intellectually demanding solo performance, he has worked extensively across theatre, film and television in Australia and internationally.

A longtime Bruny Islander, Neumann continues to work internationally while maintaining his home on the island. This performance of The Last Days of Mankind brings one of his most enduring works back to the place he has long called home.

• 1982 - Awarded Best Actor of the Year in the City of Vienna

• 1987 - Migrated to Australia under the category “Persons possessing special creative talents” and settled on Bruny Island.

• 1995–96 - Adapted and performed The Last Days of Mankind in Vienna and Melbourne, with the Melbourne production at Theatreworks nominated for a Green Room Award.

• 2004 - Returned to the work and presented at La Mama Theatre for Melbourne Fringe, where the production won Best Actor and Best Original Sound.

• 2015 - Won six Tasmanian Theatre Awards (Errols) for Alzheimer Symphony.

• 2023 - Awarded the Silver Cross from the City of Vienna for his lifelong contribution to the city's cultural landscape.

JULIUS SCHWING

Julius Schwing is an improvising guitarist and composer from Bruny Island, Lutruwita/Tasmania.

Born in Vienna, he started playing guitar at age nine and since the age of thirteen has performed extensively throughout Australia and internationally.

He has been nominated three times for the Freedman Jazz Fellowship and placed 3rd in the 2022 National Jazz Awards. In 2023, Julius was awarded a state luminary APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award.

He has released 11 albums, 10 of which are on his own creative music label Isthmus Music. Julius’s distinct improvising style and compositions are heavily influenced by the dramatic natural surroundings of his home on Bruny Island and a life lived in constant contact with this environment.

For The Last Days of Mankind, his live music provides a sonic counterpoint to Neumann’s performance, adding another dimension to Kraus’s vast and unsettling theatrical world.