18.09.2025 – 12.10.2025
The current edition of steirischer herbst borrows its title from the play Nie wieder Friede (Never Again Peace, 1934–36) by the German-Jewish writer and anti-fascist Ernst Toller. The play reverses the pacifist slogan “Never again war” of the interwar period, made famous not least by Käthe Kollwitz’s iconic poster from 1924. Toller’s indictment of a Europe that fell under the spell of fascism could not be more relevant today. The official start of the festival on is marked by a new commissioned work by the renowned collective LIGNA. The audio performance invites visitors to embark on a journey through political systems, mass phenomena and concepts of freedom. This year’s steirischer herbst programme offers a variety of newly commissioned artistic works, ranging from the big stage to cheeky interventions in public space. Augustin Maurs, who explored the dark side of music last year, this time devotes himself to The Story of the Wolf Tone, a musical phenomenon that reflects primal social fears. In Violenza 2025, Michiel Vandevelde, Pankaj Tiwari and Eneas Prawdzic examine who is shaping the thinking of the next generation, as right-wing ideologies are on the rise among young men. Influencers and propaganda promise identity, belonging and meaning – but at what price?
OMAS GEGEN RECHTS & Friends have their own methods of countering these developments, or more precisely, of moving backwards against them in their RÜCKwärtsParade (backwards parade). The Theater im Bahnhof is collaborating with Planetenparty Prinzip for the first time for this edition. The two independent theatre ensembles from Graz have formed a pact to tackle a controversial topic in the Helmut List Halle with Erben: Wer kriegt das Haus? (Heirs: Who gets the house?). Die manuskripte present Die Exhumierung ‘Hödlmosers’ (The Exhumation of ‘Hödlmoser’), a literary-archaeological docu-fiction – including a ritual Brettljausessen (traditional Austrian meal), film screening and discussion – to overcome the divide between folk and avant-garde culture.
steirischer herbst 2025
18.09.2025 – 12.10.2025
Various locations Graz / Styria
www.steirischerherbst.at
