Interviewed by
Philip Crones
He still can. Franz Xaver Kroetz, 75, leads the way into the living room of his house in Obermenzing and starts talking. It was supposed to be about the premiere of his play “Der Drang”, which had already been postponed when the pandemic broke out. Now the piece has to be pushed again because of an illness. It doesn’t matter, because it’s like always when you meet the playwright and actor: Kroetz is unpredictable. He doesn’t want to talk about the theater at all. Rather about his new book of poetry, his drunkenness, his short temper, everything he regrets, why he still writes and why he would live his life very differently today. Kroetz speaks as if it were the last interview of his life. The wall clock is ticking, really fast.