My name is Ira Süssenbach. I was born in 1992 in Siberia und grew up in Moscow. In 2012 I left Russia because I did not support the political course of the government and chose Austria to be my new home.

I had dreamt of working in theatre since I was 13 years old, but my family used to be strictly against it. So I first obtained a bachelor degree in Economics at the Moscow State University and then spent another six years working as a risk manager in the banking sector in Vienna.

As soon as I was eligible for Austrian citizenship (which also meant dropping the Russian one), I applied to the drama directing course at the Max Reinhardt Seminar Vienna and got accepted to the course of Professor Anna Maria Krassnigg.

My personal experience of enduring lots of resistance in my own family and in my homeland significantly impacted my artistic approach. In my directing work I explore and research all kinds of unfreedom and dictatorship.

I like staging comedies and farces because  humor and absurdity help me find new perspectives on complicated and often painful topics.

I consider my ability to create a fear-free working environment for multidisciplinary and multinational teams my biggest advantage. I am fluent in German, English and Russian. My goal is providing the sense of belonging to modern audiences through the adaptation of complex texts and plays from various epochs. It might sound a bit idealistic but where else do we, idealists, belong if not to the theatre?

Despite the pandemic and constant lockdowns during my studies at the Seminar (2019-2023) I staged the following performances:

• "Tales from the Vienna Woods" by Ö. von Horvath;

• "The Bear" by A. Chekhov;

• "Knives in Hens" by D. Harrower;

• "the thermal resistance" by F. Schmalz;

• "The Earthquake-Concerto" by G. Tabori (invited to the  international festival for drama schools Setkani/Encounter in Brno, CZ)

My diploma project "The Slaughterhouse" by S. Mrozek premiered in November 2022. In this work I was exploring the role of art and artists in times of war. This topic has been on my mind ever since the the war in Ukraine started. It is a heartbreaking and life-changing experience, when suddenly one’s ex-homeland becomes an aggressor-state and the iron curtain falls behind one’s back.

I live in Vienna, AT with my husband and daughter. If you like to find out more about my work, follow me on instagram: @ira_suessenbach