The contemporary update of the historic “Salon”: Every Sunday, Anna Luca Krassnigg invites personalities from art, literature, and science to discuss pressing issues in light of the season’s motto. This time, we will be joined by Paulus Hochgatterer, Tamara Scheer, Lisz Hirn, Franz-Stefan Gady, Olga Flor, Erich Prem, Dimitré Dinev, Claudia Brunner, and Franz Schuh.
The form of the Salon, which undoubtedly has something theatrical about it, aims for a dual event: the stage experience as a spark and the public Salon as a ritual to further develop and allow the experience to resonate.
With her renowned guests, theater maker Anna Luca Krassnigg questions the potential and necessity of happiness in a time when war and dangers of all kinds are spreading. Are we at the end of a brief, promising period of happiness in our history? What can we learn from the past? Why does the evident happiness of peace seem so difficult for us? From what can we draw hope?
“Counter-Narratives: To Happiness” with Paulus Hochgatterer (writer and child psychiatrist) and Dimitré Dinev (writer)
To kick off our Salon series, we ask two experts on peace and resilience how happiness can be actively shaped and what stories can help us build resistance and integrity in violent environments.
What can be countered against bleak prospects and doomsday scenarios? Is there happiness without delusion? Paulus Hochgatterer, child psychiatrist and writer, and Dimitré Dinev, who won the Austrian Book Prize for “Zeit der Mutigen” in 2025, will accompany us in these questions, which address the festival’s core theme.
“Fortuna: Franz Schuh and Happiness” with Franz Schuh (essayist and writer)
The intellectual polymath Franz Schuh honors us by presenting a best-of his texts on his life’s theme of happiness, between literature and philosophy, for a very special Salon. Following the great success of “Die Kugel ist der Menschheit bei dem einen Ohr hinein und bei dem anderen hinausgegangen” last year, Franz Schuh exclusively presents a new collage as a stage event with much discussion potential for the Wortwiege audience, in his proven, artistically-friendly pas de deux with Anna Luca Krassnigg.
“Troy and No End” with Lisz Hirn (philosopher) and Claudia Brunner (peace researcher)
Our engagement with the Trojan War as a foundational myth of the Western world leads us to trace its cultural and ideological repercussions to this day. Is war truly “the father of all things,” as Heraclitus once claimed? What does the myth teach us today? What about its iconic characters? Can we conceive of ourselves differently than in post-war and inter-war periods? Are such patterns even surmountable? To approach these questions, we welcome ethicist and practical philosopher Lisz Hirn and Claudia Brunner from the Center for Peace Research and Peace Education in Klagenfurt.
“The Fortunes of War and Other Illusions” with Tamara Scheer (historian) and Franz-Stefan Gady (military analyst)
How do wars end? How are they resolved? What can history truly teach us? In a time when more wars are started than ended, and hybrid warfare has made the theater and modus operandi of conflicts opaque – what does peace even mean? To what extent has the role of the military in society changed? What do effective peace efforts look like today? To shed light on these questions, we welcome military historian Tamara Scheer (“Von Friedensfurien und dalmatinischen Küstenrehen”) and analyst and political consultant Franz-Stefan Gady (“Überfall: Wenn der Krieg zu uns kommt”), two extremely profound experts.
“The Future, a Question of Happiness?” with Olga Flor (author and natural scientist) and Erich Prem (philosopher, expert in AI and innovation)
Not a week goes by without new possibilities – and dangers – of our human endeavors being brought to our attention: changes in climate, politics, communication, technology, and even art make short- and long-term forecasts increasingly difficult. Our two guests, Olga Flor, author of “Kurzes Buch zum fröhlichen Untergang” and a trained physicist, and Erich Prem, founder of the Institute for Digital Humanism, are highly qualified in natural sciences and experienced in looking into the future. For us, they will discuss scenarios and, above all, explore the position of humanity, with all its imperfections and unique qualities, amidst these developments.
Sun February 21, 2027 (11:30 AM)
Sun February 28, 2027 (11:30 AM)
Sun March 7, 2027 (11:30 AM)
Sun March 14, 2027 (11:30 AM)
Sun March 21, 2027 (11:30 AM)
Bahngasse 27, 2700 Wiener Neustadt
German
approx. 1 hr 30 min, no intermission
Regular: €12 (free seating)
Early Bird (until 31.12.2026):
Regular: €10 (free seating)
U30-Ticket: €3
Further Discounts see here
Concept and Moderation: Anna Luca Krassnigg
Scientific Coordination: Jérôme Junod
A production of Wortwiege, supported by Lower Austria and the City of Wiener Neustadt.
In conversation. Dramaturg and author Peter Roessler on the Viennese Kasperl, the fascination of horror, and how history takes effect in the present (and beyond).
© Victoria Nazarova
