THE EMERGENCY LIGHT. A SCANDAL.

It was this demand by Thomas Bernhard and Claus Peymann that, in the early 1970s, sparked a theatre scandal unlike any other—likely one of the greatest scandals Bernhard ever provoked: the now-legendary “Emergency Light Scandal.”

It all began with the premiere of The Ignorant and the Madman, staged on July 29, 1972, at the Salzburg State Theatre as part of the Salzburg Festival. Claus Peymann directed the production—and provoked controversy even during rehearsals. To fulfill Bernhard’s written demand for total darkness at the end of the play, Peymann insisted that the emergency lighting be turned off for two minutes. A crucial dramatic choice: the blackout was to set the stage for a scene of unseen chaos—shattering plates and bottles—a destructive act meant to be heard, but not seen. With emergency lighting on, however, the effect would be lost in a murky half-light.

Naturally, the fire authorities objected—the emergency lighting had to remain on, as mandated by a regulation dating back to 1884, leaving no room for exceptions. Tensions ran high within the artistic team, but eventually subsided when, during the public dress rehearsal, the emergency lights were in fact turned off and the scene, performed in complete darkness, achieved the intended effect.

The premiere took place the very next day. In the final scene, the emergency lights remained on. Peymann erupted. When the festival management showed no intention of honoring the demands of the playwright and director before the second performance, the cast—most notably Bruno Ganz—refused to go on.
The show was cancelled. The audience, already waiting in the theatre lobby, was sent home. Bernhard fired off several telegrams to Festival President Josef Kaut, one of which read: "A society that cannot tolerate two minutes of darkness has no need for my play." The premiere turned out to be the play’s sole public performance; all others were called off.
The matter was eventually brought before the theatrical arbitration court in Vienna, but was dismissed in June 1973.

To this day, the authorities prohibit switching off emergency lighting during a performance. The rule might be sidestepped by veiling rather than extinguishing the lights. But the veils—say, of dark cloth—must not be permanently attached. Instead, someone would have to be posted at every door, ready to cover the lights by hand. Such a workaround, needless to say, was unthinkable in Bernhard’s time.