BERLIN // A play about Josef Fritzl, the Austrian man who imprisoned his daughter, Elisabeth, for 24 years in his cellar and fathered seven children with her, has opened in Vienna under police protection to howls of outrage from politicians and the tabloid media.
Pension F. (Guesthouse F.) was written and directed by Hubsi Kramar, a 60-year-old Austrian actor and performance artist, who said it was a satire about the media's thirst for sensation in cases such as Mr Fritzl's, which shocked the world last April when the incarcerated children were released from their cellar prison.
Mr Fritzl, 73, goes on trial on March 16 charged with homicide because one of the children died shortly after it was born, as well as with rape, incest, slavery and false imprisonment.
The case made global headlines and prompted the government to announce a campaign to restore Austria's reputation.
Only two years earlier, Natascha Kampusch, an Austrian teenager, had managed to escape after being held by a kidnapper for more than eight years.
Before the play's debut, commentators in Austria called it a tasteless attempt to capitalise on the suffering of Mr Fritzl's victims. Kramar asked for police protection after receiving threats.
Austria's best-selling tabloid, Kronenzeitung, wrote: "Herr Kramar. You are disgusting." The far-right Freedom Party called the play an "incredible scandal" and said it would do "indescribable damage" to Austria's image abroad.
Dozens of reporters and camera crews from all over the world, including the BBC and Al Jazeera, crammed into Vienna's 120-seat 3raum-Anatomietheater on opening night on Monday in the kind of media frenzy Kramar had evidently been hoping for.
But their hopes for fresh scandal were dashed.
Instead of focusing on Fritzl, the play is a string of cabaret performances poking fun at the media, which it accuses of being "randy" for sensation and willing to exploit innocent abuse victims to satisfy the public's voyeurism.
"Thank you, dear representatives of the media, for writing this play for us," Kramar told the press before the performance. "Unfortunately, too many of you have come. There's no room for us actors in the theatre."
Some reviewers conceded that Kramar had succeeded in holding a mirror up to the media.
"The real event didn't take place on stage. It consisted of the police who protected the theatre and the presence of 120 journalists on the 120 available seats," wrote one German daily newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The theatre was so full of reporters that they had difficulty finding ordinary theatregoers to interview.
"It's not about the case and its disgusting details, but about the inglorious role of the media," wrote Germany's Frankfurter Rundschau, pointing to "the role of all those who turned up to stand in this rundown theatre with lustful looks."
The reviewer for the Vienna-based Wiener Zeitung wrote: "The media satire succeeded perfectly - and everyone took part, apart from the camera teams who left with an air of disappointment because the hoped-for scandal hadn't materialised."
Pension F. includes a mock TV talk show and songs about abused children. A masked actor portraying a young abuse victim is present on stage throughout the play. A sign that says "Victims Boost Ratings" hangs above the stage. And while Fritzl is hardly mentioned, banner headlines about the case are projected on to the backdrop.
All performances have been sold out, which is not surprising given the hype surrounding it and the small number of seats. Kramar plans three additional performances in April.
The Harvard-educated actor and director is well known in Austria for high-profile stunts, and famously attended the Vienna Opera Ball dressed as Adolf Hitler in 2000 to protest against the inclusion of the Freedom Party in a coalition government. He was arrested before he managed to have a dance.
The Fritzl trial is expected to last just one week. He faces a life sentence. Elisabeth Fritzl and her children have been shielded from the press since last year and were released from a psychiatric clinic in December after eight months of counselling. They are trying to rebuild their lives in a secret location.
The electrical engineer locked Ms Fritzl, 18 at the time, in the cellar of his house in Amstetten, about 120km west of Vienna, in Aug 1984. He told his wife that she had run away to a religious cult.
He had fitted the cellar with a 500-kilogram, sound-proofed door. What followed then was a 24-year-ordeal of rape and incarceration in which Ms Fritzl bore him seven children.
One died at birth, and Mr Fritzl brought three of the surviving six children upstairs to live normal lives, telling neighbours that his daughter had left them on the family's doorstep.
They were released after one of the children suffered kidney failure and Mr Fritzl allowed her to be taken to hospital. The three children had never seen daylight. Berthold Kepplinger, the head of the Amstetten clinic that treated the children, called Ms Fritzl an "incredibly strong woman" for caring for the children, teaching them to read and write and giving them enough hope to stop them from going insane.
Mr Fritzl, it has been reported, has been negotiating with British tabloid newspapers to sell his interrogation transcripts for millions of euros. Ms Fritzl is believed to have kept a diary of her life in captivity, which includes an account of how she chased a rat with her bare hands.
dcrossland@thenational.ae
German intelligence warnings
- 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
The Al Barzakh Festival takes place on Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30pm in the Red Theatre, NYUAD, Saadiyat Island. Tickets cost Dh105 for adults from platinumlist.net
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Results
Stage seven
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 22s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 48s
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
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Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
- Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
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- Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
SQUADS
Bangladesh (from): Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Mahmudullah Riyad, Mohammad Mithun, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das, Taijul Islam, Mosaddek Hossain, Nayeem Hasan, Mehedi Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Ebadat Hossain, Abu Jayed
Afghanistan (from): Rashid Khan (capt), Ihsanullah Janat, Javid Ahmadi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Afsar Zazai, Shapoor Zadran
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
SPECS
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The biog
Favourite books: 'Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life' by Jane D. Mathews and ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates
Favourite travel destination: Greece, a blend of ancient history and captivating nature. It always has given me a sense of joy, endless possibilities, positive energy and wonderful people that make you feel at home.
Favourite pastime: travelling and experiencing different cultures across the globe.
Favourite quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders” - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.
Favourite Movie: Mona Lisa Smile
Favourite Author: Kahlil Gibran
Favourite Artist: Meryl Streep
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