26.05.2026 – 31.05.2026
How can we tell stories about the future without getting bogged down in scenarios of crisis and apocalypse? This question lies at the heart of the Dramatiker|innenfestival Graz, which aims to open up new perspectives on our coexistence on this planet. Under the motto ‘Interweaving’, the festival brings international theatre productions, new dramatic texts, lectures and workshops to Graz, inviting us to reimagine the future beyond anthropocentric thinking.
Organised by uniT’s DRAMA FORUM in collaboration with its main partners Next Liberty and TaO! – Theater am Ortweinplatz, the festival views theatre as a space for thinking about possibilities. Artists from across Europe explore connections between people, nature and society – and seek narratives that inspire hope and make new forms of coexistence conceivable.
The festival opens at the Orpheum Graz with *Leichter Gesang* by Nele Stuhler, a production by the Deutsches Theater Berlin in collaboration with the inclusive RambaZamba Theatre, directed by FX Mayr. Drawing on everyday situations of understanding and misunderstanding, the play explores what kind of language we need to connect with one another. The text works with the principles of plain language, but does not adopt them verbatim; instead, it uses them as a starting point for its own linguistic experiment. The result is a form of language that appears both simple and complex: familiar and alien at the same time. Bachmann Prize winner Natascha Gangl With “Staub … a little mindblow*”, the object and puppet theatre collective spitzwegerich presents a humorous and poetic exploration of one of the most inconspicuous constants in our lives: Dust becomes a metaphor for the future and transience – and the starting point for a playful yet clever convergence of ‘wiping science’ and science, facts and nonsense, poetry and slapstick. The text is by Natascha Gangl, who was awarded the Ingeborg Bachmann Prize in 2025.
The Drama Walks in the Graz Botanical Garden offer a unique format: amidst greenhouses and ancient trees, new plays by DRAMA FORUM playwrights are performed for the first time. Visitors move from place to place, discovering contemporary drama in an unusual, natural setting. The stage programme is accompanied by the two-day Future Narratives conference, which explores theatre as a space for collective reflection on possible futures. Lectures, workshops, interactive formats such as an audiovisual performance on mycelium networks, and discussions with authors combine theoretical perspectives with artistic practices.
Internationales Dramatiker:innenfestival Graz 2026
26.05.2026 – 31.05.2026
various locations Graz, Styria
www.dramatikerinnenfestival.at
