In the library of the Ferdinandeum I came across an article by the historian Anton Dörrer in the newspaper Dolomiten from 1952. Here he writes about August Lewald, his Tyrolean travelogue, the description of the visit to the theatre and the encounter with Anna Pritzi. Dörrer explains that the young women from Hötting and St. Nikolaus were given permission to perform in Büchsenhausen Castle because there was a brewery there and the brewer was happy to be able to sell his beer on the spot. They are said to have performed first in a barn and later in the hall of the inn. Büchsenhausen Castle is just behind where Anna Pritzi used to live. I visited the castle and spoke with the head of castle marketing, a resident artist and a staff member of the art association and fellowship programme that rents space there. Unfortunately no one had ever heard of Anna Pritzi and her theatre before.
What is interesting about Dörrer's article is that he describes that there were several such theatre-playing " Mädchengesellschaften" (girls' societies) in Tyrol. Maybe I can find traces of Anna Pritzi in Anton Dörrer's estate? I was told that he liked to collect manuscripts of plays and that his estate is kept in the Tyrolean Provincial Archives.
Reference:
Anton Dörrer, Amazonentheater in Tirol, Dolomiten vom 5. Juli 1952
photo: Schloss Büchsenhausen
photo: Stadtarchiv/Stadtmuseum Innsbruck, Signatur: Ph-7812