Nesterval are the pop stars of Vienna’s free scene. In the spring of 2026, the company are daring to think big: they are turning the tales of the Nibelungen into an intense, immersive experience. Across two venues (one open air, the other behind closed doors), there emerge two independent yet closely intertwined plays. Both plays, Wallden at the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna in Augarten park and Donaugold at brut Wien, are set in a post-apocalyptic universe. Wallden is the utopia of self-sufficient, communal life amid nature – or what is left of it in 2044. While Wallden thus represents that which is wild, physical and archaic, Donaugold reflects that which is decadent, civilised and controlled. Both ways of life raise a question: How do we want to live (or survive) in the near future? That which succeeds in Wallden fails in Donaugold – and vice versa. For there is no ‘single true path’ and to err is human: postapocalypse now!
A joint production of the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic of Vienna and Nesterval
Artistic direction, Concept, Direction Martin Finnland Co-Direction Teresa Löfberg Choreography, Co-Direction Jerôme Knols Text Eva Deutsch, Martin Finnland, Tove Grün, Teresa Löfberg, Lorenz Tröbinger With Stanislaus Dick, Martin Finnland, Marja Hirvonen, Romy Hrubeš, Chester Joseph, Lu Ki, Peter Kraus, Anna Malli, Benita Martins, Aston Matters, Willy Mutzenpachner, Stefan Pauser, Julian Pichler, Sabrina Strehl, Christine Tielkes, Martin Walkner, Anne Wieben, Christopher Wurmdobler Props Andrea Konrad Costume design Sophie Eidenberger Composition Julian Muldoon Musical curation Alkis Vlassakakis Dramaturgy Rita Neulinger Management, Dramaturgy Tove Grün Production management Emilie Kleinszig Technical management Lukas Saller Technical assistance, Stage management Veronika Birkner
Production Nesterval Coproduction Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien
World premiere May 2026, Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen) | Free Republic Vienna