Sell-out play in Vienna about Fritzl 'the monster'

In a theater crammed with reporters, an Austrian satire took a swipe at sensationalist and superficial media coverage, particularly of the man accused of holding his daughter captive for 24 years and fathering seven children with her.

In a theater crammed with reporters, an Austrian satire took a swipe at sensationalist and superficial media coverage, particularly of the man accused of holding his daughter captive for 24 years and fathering seven children with her.

The piece, called Pension F German for F's Bed and Breakfast also slammed reporters for

not pulling any punches: The satire's director and star is Hubsi Kramar, an Austrian standup comedian known for not shying away from scandal. pic/ap

being too focused on ratings to appreciate the vulnerability of victims and truly listen to what they have to say.

The premiere on Monday night comes just weeks before Josef Fritzl goes on trial on charges of murder, rape, incest, false imprisonment and enslavement.

Investigators say he has confessed to imprisoning and repeatedly raping his daughter in a windowless dungeon he built beneath their home in an Austrian town. The alleged crime shocked the world and triggered massive media attention when it surfaced last April.

The satire's director and star is Hubsi Kramar, an Austria standup comedian known for not shying away from scandal. In 2000, he caused a stir when he tried to attend Vienna's Opera Ball dressed up as Adolf Hitler.
For F's Bed and Breakfast, Kramar used a crew of amateurs including some abuse victims to put together a diverse set of skits and musical interludes.

Kramar (60) faced a firestorm after he announced plans in January to stage the show. His most vocal critics included Austria's right-wing Freedom Party, which issued a statement calling the show a "slap in the face of the victims" of Fritzl's victims.