HISTORY

In the beginning, there were written words:
The group’s first appearance in October 1997 was as a reading group, performing staged readings at the Theater Drachengasse Bar&Co. Their regular, late night spot was entitled “English for English Lovers” and continued once a month until the summer of 2001. From 1998 to 2002 they also read once a month at the ORF‘s, Radio Cafe, building up a repertoire of literally hundreds of plays, short stories poems, and even the odd sonnet. The group was soon known in theatre circles as, The Lovers, and officially took on the name English Lovers in 2002.
Lovers have come and gone since the company was founded in the summer of 1997, but the line-up of Lovers now has remained the same for the last decade or so. Coming from England, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Austria and the USA, their theatrical roots are as equally varied, yet they have all made Vienna their home.

Since their first comedy and impro night, A Load of Nonsense, in January 1999 at the Theater Drachengasse, the Lovers moved increasingly towards completely improvised performances starting with, Late Night Laughs, at the Cabaret Niedermair. For their 2001 show, Who’s On Next?, a mix of impro and sketches written by various members of the group, they added song and dance. The show was a huge success, both at the Drachengasse and at Vienna’s English Theatre in April 2002, and was followed that same year by, Zip Zap Zoom, and their first all-improvised show, Impro a la Carte.
Now, The Lovers produce the legendary, LateNight, every 2nd and 4th Friday in the month at the Drachengasse,
as well as two “en suite” shows a year at Christmas and in the Spring, not to mention countless corporate shows, appearances at festivals and of course on tour: Coming soon to a theatre near you!

Contact: office@english-lovers.com