Since the insolvency of Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, Austria's once richest man has also become a household name in Germany: René Benko dominated the headlines for months in 2024 with the collapse of his real estate company, Signa Holding. It became the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the Second Republic of Austria. Even millions in German state aid evaporated almost completely. Numerous cities now face the threat of construction scars lasting for years. The path to this seems to have been paved by an impenetrable mix of ruthlessness, billionaire cronyism, and a flawed financial system. In January 2025, Benko was taken into custody in his hometown of Innsbruck. For months, director Calle Fuhr and DOSSIER collaborated to unravel the story of the rise and fall of the "miracle worker" Benko. The result is a unique theatrical evening somewhere between stand-up, TED Talk, and lecture-performance, which, due to high demand, had to be moved from the smallest to the largest venue at the Volkstheater in Vienna. After guest performances at the Berliner Ensemble and an invitation to the Radikal jung Festival in Munich, Calle Fuhr's entertaining solo show now comes to the stage of the Schauspiel Köln in an updated version.

Tina Prichenfried

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Apr 29 - May 13, 2026

The Rise and Fall of Mr. René Benko · Bühnen Köln

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