„Wonders are many, and none is more wondrous than man.“ – Sophokles
“Wonders are many, and none is more wondrous than man.” – the famous Antigone quote is the fuse for a programme about the monstrous dual nature of man: With the two abysmal social comedies by Qualtinger/Merz and a new exploration of the myth of Troy, from Homer and Kleist’s Penthesilea to contemporary music and dance theatre, a brand new dramatic reading by Franz Schuh on Karl Kraus, the theatre series Reden! and dialog formats with guests such as Klaus Theweleit, Daniela Strigl, Florian Scheuba, Raimund Löw, Lisz Hirn, Michael Köhlmeier, Barbara Toth and Konrad-Paul Liessmann, the festival opens a contemporary agora in the historic Kasematten of Wiener Neustadt.
We are currently encountering truly monstrous things at an incomprehensible speed. The level of excitement is high and we are stunned by the rapid changes. And yet we suspect: None of this is entirely new, but rather raises the old question once again: How can the human creature be hideously destructive and tremendously visionary at the same time? And isn’t that precisely where hope lies, despite everything?
Anna Luca Krassnigg
(Artistic Director)
Heinrich v. Kleist
The Wortwiege classic: linguistic fireworks about a murderous love affair.
Dates: 27 February to 21 March
Helmut Qualtinger & Carl Merz
An abysmal comedy about human nature and the Austrian soul.
Dates: 25 February to 22 March
Helmut Qualtinger & Carl Merz
The suppressed masterpiece about the Ringtheater Fire.
Dates: Fri 27, Sat 28, Sun 29 March
Korhan Basaran
Physical theatre, dance, music and video art about a fallen angel.
Dates: Wed 25 & Thu 26 March
Fox on Ice
A theatre concert based on Homer’s “Iliad” – with Georg Danek and Michael Köhlmeier.
Dates: Fri 20 & Sat 28 March
Karl Kraus & Franz Schuh
A dramatic reading by Karl Kraus and Franz Schuh.
Date: Sat 28 February
The inaugural speeches of three very different American presidents.
Date: Fri 6 March
National Socialism and its antidote – with Heinrich Himmler and Hannah Arendt.
Date: Sat 21 March
Renowned guests think out loud on the annual motto “Ungeheuer… is a lot”. With Daniela Strigl, Klaus Theweleit, Florian Scheuba, Lisz Hirn, Jonas Grethlein and others.
Dates: Sun 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 March
Playful knowledge test with quizmaster Jérôme Junod.
Dates: Tue 3 & Wed 24 March
Theatre-making up close: intensive workshop on two Saturday afternoons.
Dates: Sat 7 & 14 March
Wortwiege invites you to the traditional festival aperitif.
We present the festival programme and introduce this year’s motto “Ungeheuer… ist viel”. Background information on the programme, the appointed theatre forms as well as the artists and salon guests of this issue await you. We shed light on the central themes and look forward to exchanging ideas at the bar and in the salon!
Moderation: Anna Luca Krassnigg
With artists from the festival
Free admission with advance reservation at willkommen@wortwiege.at.
Since 2020, the Wortwiege Festival has been transforming the impressive underground vaults of Wiener Neustadt’s historic Kasematten into a very special kind of theatre stage.
The Kasematten are close, they are easily accessible, they are beautiful – and full of life!
Wiener Neustadt combines historical depth with an active cultural scene and a lively city center.
Culinary, cultural and leisure tips and accommodation in Wiener Neustadt can be found in our city guide.
The Wortwiege Festival presents a spectrum of content-rich and unusual forms of theatre in the historic Kasematten Wiener Neustadt.
Under the artistic direction of Anna Luca Krassnigg, it combines gripping storytelling – from ancient material to contemporary drama – with philosophical thinking in the contemporary salon. Theatre, literature, film, architecture, music and design merge in the impressive atmosphere of the historic fortified building.
You can find our gift vouchers, festival passes and costumized festival shirts in our webshop.
Listen to our SALON on Sunday as a podcast on all common podcast platforms after the festival.
The U25 tickets for visitors up to the age of 25 are made possible by our sponsor Wiener Neustädter Sparkasse. All PLAY! performances are now also available on Ticketgretchen, even with a discount for anyone under the age of 27.
We are happy to offer individual introductions to the plays and festival tours for groups of young people, schoolchildren and students. More …
