spleen*graz-Festival

A loud sign of life from young theater

The junges theater basel presented "Sing Me a Love Song!" at the opening at Next Liberty(Bild: Clemens Nestroy)

The spleen*graz festival opened on Thursday with a sporting battle for the leading role. It brings international productions for young audiences to the provincial capital, but also provides a stage for local young talent.

The opening of the festival is staged like a major TV event with "Long live sport". A witty presenter duo stirs up the atmosphere as the two teams enter the square in front of the Graz Opera House. The teams position themselves loudly against each other, even unpacking the pompoms to fuel the rivalry. But what is this exhibition match actually about? The rope pull is to decide who plays the leading role, because as is the case with sport: there can only be one.

Stage for young local talent
It is one of the numerous spleen*trieb projects at the festival that aims to provide a stage for local young talent. Since the premiere of the biennial festival 18 years ago - this year marks the 10th edition - the promotion of local theater youth has been one of the festival's hobbyhorses.

Opening with "Long live sport" in front of the Graz Opera House(Bild: Clemens Nestroy)

To ensure that this remains the case and that young people continue to be reflected in the program, a team of young spleen*seekers has even been put together this year to explore the festival through its paces. And in numerous interventions in public space, the aim is of course also to engage with the audience - for example, a young team of theater makers is out and about, asking passers-by for "street utopias", and in this way wants to turn the focus to the positive in times of manifold crises.

Internationally acclaimed guest performances
In addition to promoting young local talent, spleen*graz also brings internationally acclaimed productions to Graz as guest performances. For example, "Sing Me A Love Song!" by the junges theater basel could be seen at the opening in Graz's Next Liberty - a play in which six young actors examine the clichés of popular love songs and compare them with the realities of their own (love) lives. The result is a wild and loud mixtape of feelings and urges.

Search for "street utopias" at the spleen*festival(Bild: CLEMENS NESTROY)

Other great guest performances can be experienced in Graz until Wednesday - including a Belgian troupe inviting very young children (aged 2 and over) on a musical journey to the African village of "Tiebele" on Saturday and Sunday, the duo Ebner&Flut bringing a play about dementia and loneliness to the stage on Sunday and Monday with "Vergessen" (aged 5 and over) and the KMZ Kollektiv questioning global injustices in a creative and visually powerful way in "Kaffee mit Zucker?".