“It's not even a tavern! ” was one of the criticisms (voiced by local restaurateurs, by the way) that Kira Saskia Schinko faced when she stopped off at Gina Brandlmayr's hospitable pension in Unterach am Attersee with her tavern show. Anyone who not only takes the title literally, but also knows a bit about the ambitious concept of the unique tavern show, has long known that Kira is about much more than setting off colorful fireworks of entertainment at selected locations in the Capital of Culture region: The problems that locals, guests and hosts alike are also on the table, as they are an essential part of the journey in search of a new, contemporary host House culture.
Such new perspectives require different, sometimes unusual perspectives. That is why Kira Saskia Schink deliberately took the audience and guests of her third tavern show to an extraordinary place, which Gina Brandlmayr discovered for herself after studying art in Vienna, extensive trips around the world with culinary educational stops in Paris and Bangalore and reinvented in the spirit of hospitality: an open, friendly miniature realm for herself, which would still be insufficiently defined as a bed and breakfast, event center and many other labels. While complaints are being made elsewhere about staff shortages, friends and regular guests got involved as a matter of course to make something special possible.
From the team of Pension Hanslmann Culinary delights, the audience started a brilliant program, which was particularly dominated by music this evening. A hit quiz in particular created a lively atmosphere, in which visitors were able to sing and guests were allowed to guess. Since you were not in the tavern, it was easier to address the discomfort of tavern visitors on the local scene and to report on some bad experiences.
With the two musicians Christl and Cesár Sampson at her side, Kira Saskia Schinko realized that the established music business suffers from similar problems as tavern culture. There is a certain degree of tiredness and an unfortunate lack of diversity in both industries. There is a lack of space and framework for experiments necessary for survival, while the same thing runs counter to exhaustion. But such contemplative nuances remain in the general joy and hearty laughter of the audience only those who are looking for new, creative paths themselves — for the tavern or for themselves.
Photo gallery by (c) Veronika Philipp Photography
