!!!Epp, Leon

b. Vienna, May 29, 1905, 
d. Eisenstadt (Burgenland), Dec. 21, 1968, actor, director and theatre 
manager; husband of Elisabeth  Epp. After acting in Teplice (Teplitz) 
and in German theatres, E. founded the theatre "Die Insel" in 1937, 
which was forced to close in 1938. 1939-1941 headed the "Komoedie" 
theatre, 1944 worked as head producer in Bochum and Graz; 1945-1951 
head of "Die Insel" once again. 1948/49 manager of the 
Renaissancetheater in Vienna and 1952-1968 of the Volkstheater. With 
his motto "You have to take risks", E. had a major influence on 
Austrian post-war theatre, especially with his stagings of modern 
dramas. 1954 initiated the  "Volkstheater in den Aussenbezirken" 
(Volkstheater in the outer districts of Vienna). Awarded the J. Kainz 
Medal for outstanding merit in theatre.

!Literature
K. Breitenecker, Es muss gewagt werden, doctoral thesis, 
Vienna 1991; A. Eder, Theater Die Insel in der Komoedie, exhibition 
catalogue, Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien, 1998; Es muss gewagt 
sein, L. E., 1905-1968, ed. by Volkstheater, Vienna 1999.



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