About the work
Zeitvertreib is a one-act farce that Johann Nestroy wrote in 1858. Censors approved the play unchanged for the Theater am Franz-Josefs-Kai on 21 January 1862, but it was never staged — neither in Nestroy's lifetime nor, as far as is documented, afterwards.
Plot
The young architect Felder is confined to his lodgings by his landlord Stockmauer over unpaid rent. To fight boredom, Felder and his servant Bumml, disguised as women, lure several seamstresses under the pretext of running a fashion business; when the disguise is discovered, turbulent complications ensue just as Stockmauer himself arrives.
Cultural significance
Around the play's non-performance grew a legend, now refuted by scholarship, that Nestroy found it too indecent and banned it in his will; no evidence for this survives in either the manuscript or the testament. The more likely reason cited today is that the ageing Nestroy no longer saw himself fit for the youthful leading role.