The paper deals with Anna Gmeyner’s
Zeitstücken
(contemporary plays)
Heer ohne Helden
(Army Without Heroes, 1929) and
Zehn am Fließband
(Ten on the Assembly Line, 1931) that critically examine the working conditions in mining and industry. My focus lies on the dramaturgical and scenographical techniques used in these reportage-like plays to address social injustices and to proclaim radical change – an interventionist potential of the
Zeitstück
that expanded traditional theatre audiences and provided access to the theatre especially for female writers.