Each spring, Vienna turns into a capital of the theatre of the world for one-and-a-half months. Which parameters of sustainability must be adopted by an institution that has such a decisive global sphere of action? Is it acceptable to invite a Brazilian or a South African production? Would it not make more sense to produce locally? Or would a consistent policy of sustainability in fact eventually come at the cost of the global South – of those who have no production funding in the first place?
Tuesdays and Wednesdays are hearing days – a series in which we will develop the rules for the festival of the future together. Who takes decisions? Where does project funding come from and where does it go? Who is invited and who isn’t – and why? Who is the producer, who is the audience? Boycotts – yes or no? And: how does a globally active festival agree with sustainability? Experts, artists and activists provide an insight into their practices and examine potential alternatives. Over the duration of five weeks, the Council of the Republic will attend and discuss the hearings and design the Festwochen’s own constitution, which will be presented to the audience at the end of the festival as the Vienna Declaration.
