Franz Xaver Karl Gewey

Franz Xaver Karl Gewey (14 April 1764 – 18 October 1819)

From an early age he was interested in the theatre, playing on amateur stages with Joachim Perinet. He had a talent for parody and comic depictions of everyday life in Vienna.

Gewey's early plays Die Modesitten ("The fashionable ways") and Pygmalion were well received, and went on to write further satirical pieces, that were in tune with the popular mood at that time. He was also successful with his serious play Der seltene Prozeß ("The remarkable trial"). Most of his plays were not printed and are now lost.

His character He was described by the writer Franz Gräffer: "It was a great pleasure to be in Gewey's company; constant cheerfulness, a bubbly mood, there was laughter and laughter. Even his open, clear, jovial expression was heart-warming.... He spoke very loudly, laughed even louder, really resoundingly, and fell into looking glaring, grotesque; he was also quite fond of the genre of cynicism. Parody spiced with a little sarcasm was his sphere".