Heldenplatz is set in Austria, 1988. For the Schuster family – intellectual, Jewish, Viennese to the core – the country remains as uninhabitable as it was when they fled in 1938. 40 years on from World War Two, irrational hatred, neurosis and decadences still reign.

Playwright Bernhard explores the shared isolation of people who have lost their bearings along with most of their illusions. Condemned in his homeland when it was first published, Heldenplatz delves deep into Austria’s historic alliance, exposing the right-wing sensibilities of some of the country’s most prominent citizens.