Simpl, Vienna, Cabaret theatre in Innere Stadt, Vienna, Austria

The Simpl is a cabaret housed in a cellar venue in Vienna's Innere Stadt, entered from the street and known for its red curtain, which has faced Austrian television audiences since the 1960s. Its name, lettering and red bulldog are taken from the Munich satirical magazine Simplicissimus, founded in 1896.

Opened on 25 October 1911 as the beer cabaret Simplicissimus (the house gives 1912), it was soon known simply as "Der Simpl". Under Karl Farkas and Fritz Grünbaum it became a revue cabaret in the 1920s and 1930s, played until two days before the Anschluss in March 1938. The Jewish-owned venue was then Aryanised; after the war it reopened on 18 May 1945 as Vienna's first cabaret, and Farkas led it until his death in 1971.

The name, lettering and red bulldog come from the Munich satirical magazine Simplicissimus, founded in 1896; Viennese soon shortened the original name Bierkabarett Simplicissimus to "Der Simpl". The red curtain is the house's trademark, familiar to Austrian television viewers since the 1960s: the conférencier steps in front of it to announce the programme with topical punchlines. Karl Farkas's year-end revue Bilanz des Jahres was broadcast annually by ORF from 1957.

The Simpl occupies a cellar space in central Vienna, reached by stairs, so the performance hall sits below street level. The red curtain on stage has been familiar to Austrian television viewers since the 1960s. Programmes change with the season, and the house has run continuously since reopening on 18 May 1945.

The red curtain at the Simpl is familiar to Austrian television viewers since the 1960s: Fritz Grünbaum, Karl Farkas, Martin Flossmann and from 1993 Michael Niavarani stepped in front of it to announce the evening's programme with topical punchlines. Name, lettering and the red bulldog come from the Munich satirical magazine Simplicissimus, founded in 1896.