6 March 2022

Browsing through the Wiener Festwochen 2022 programme: 'Astronaut Wittgenstein' by Nataša Rajkovic explores times of transition with a site-specific theater event at the Kaisermühlenbucht with involvement of bypassing cyclists, swimmers

By browsing through the German/English programme of the Wiener Festwochen 2022, one picture shows a place Viennese know well from their cycling tours or water sports activities in the city's largest recreation area, the Neue Donau. The New Danube was built after political discussions (history) in the 70ies-80ies as a side channel of the Danube. At the picture on view is a sort of harbor with classical theater or sports stadium stands. The amphitheater is depicted in the catalog of Vienna's largest theater festival and announced to become the location of a world premiere! Probably only few Viennese know that this bay has a name: It's the 'Kaisermühlenbucht'. After this summer in mid-June, it's very possible that the Kaisermühlenbucht is a well known location for the culture elite of the city.

Recently, Wiener Festwochen announced that around 40 productions will happen from 13 May (opening) until 18 June at more than 20 locations in Vienna. Among the productions are more than 10 world premieres such as 'Astronaut Wittgenstein' by Croatian playwright and director Nataša Rajkovic who developed for the Kaisermühlenbucht a site-specific theater event where people around like cyclists, roller skaters, swimmers, sunbathers will be involved into the story of Astronaut Wittgenstein. The theater event happens on 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, and 18 June.

The artist explores topics like the definition of the natural or the artificial, questions how change is working, the impact of time, or how strangers can communicate with one another and hits this way quasi the nerve of the Wiener Festwochen 2022 motto 'Re-Invention' addressing a society that is currently in the status of transition from the established patterns to the invention of new ones such as Christophe Slagmuylder, Artistic Director of the multidisciplinary art festival Wiener Festwochen, explains at festwochen.at/en/vorwort, "We are not anymore where we used to be but not yet at a new place."