Cabaret duo calls it quits

The “Flüsterzweieck” says a loud farewell

Ulrike Haidacher and Antonia Stabinger (right)

(Bild: Jasmin Schuller)

15 years ago, Antonia Stabinger and Ulrike Haidacher won the Kleinkunstvogel as the duo "Flüsterzweieck". Now they are calling it a day and going solo. But before that, there will be a big farewell in Graz.

"You have to know when it's time to go", say Antonia Stabinger and Ulrike Haidacher at the meeting with the "Krone". The two girls from Graz have known each other since their school days: "We both had the dream of doing something with art - and after constantly getting on our friends' nerves with wordplay and imitations, we thought: why not try cabaret?" At the Kleinkunstvogel in Graz, the duo won the jury prize at the first attempt - and with it came the commitment to put on a full-length program.

"You're too weird to make money"
And there they were, two young women who brought absurd theatrical sketches to the stage and didn't want to fit into the cabaret scene at all: "We were predicted to be doomed from the start. It was always said: you're too weird to make money with it."

"Stable Escalation" was the name of one of the duo's successful programs

(Bild: Gabriel Rizar)

But for 15 years, it worked well - the shows were well booked, a successful comedy column on FM4 was added: "We never did cabaret for the masses, but we were always successful in our niche."

Corona was a "major turning point"
But why the end now? "In hindsight, corona was a major turning point. Our new program had to be postponed for almost a year, after which it felt like we had to start all over again," says Haidacher. Stabinger adds: "The industry has also changed due to the pandemic - it's more about short jokes that can be used for social media - and that's just not us."

A picture from the duo's early years

(Bild: Pia Clodi)

The two artists themselves have also changed: Haidacher wrote her first novel "The Party" in lockdown, which was very successful - soon to be followed by the second, "Malibu Orange". And Stabinger has also increasingly taken a liking to solo performances - most recently going viral with her character "Clit-Doris". "We both just had the feeling that our joint project was finished," they say.

Big farewell in the theater café
But at the end, the "Flüsterzweieck" is to be celebrated once again - with three evenings (30 May to 1 June) at the Graz Theatercafé: "We want to celebrate what we have achieved together in 15 years," they say. With a lot of absurd humor - and perhaps a tear or two.