Program EN – La Strada

La Strada Graz

31 July –
8 August 2026

International festival of street art, puppet theatre, contemporary circus and community art

teil:haben | taking part

This summer, the city will once again become a stage. People will stretch out on the ground, using their bodies to measure public space. Others will move through the streets in single file, balancing stones on their heads. Still others will carry their tubas and triangles towards Freiheitsplatz. Some will be artists; many will simply be residents or visitors eager to take part in the festival. But more on that later.

As every year, the festival opens on the stage of the Graz Opera House. With Möbius, the 19-member French Collectif XY creates a bold fusion of acrobatics, dance and poetry, dissolving the boundaries between artistic disciplines. Their inspiration comes from natural phenomena, such as the wonderfully fluid movements of birds and fish in flocks and schools. An ode to the resilience of individuals within a community. Circus Ronaldo, already well known and much loved by our audiences, will return to the circus tent with its new production Da Capo. Combining tradition with a contemporary perspective, the performance brings the commedia dell’arte of centuries past vividly back to life. At the same time, it tells the company’s own story – a story spanning seven generations and 180 years, filled with wonder, passion and coincidence. At Next Liberty theatre, Frédérique Cournoyer Lessard reflects on what it means to be different and to find one’s own path. Combining a theatrical monologue with compelling aerial hoop acrobatics, SCUSE is a profoundly moving and richly layered work. A very special performance awaits us in the Graz Botanical Garden: A MOMENT’S NOTICE by Alex Deutinger & Alexander Gottfarb. In this co-production with La Strada, strange creatures become mirrors of their surroundings – and of those they encounter.

This year, more than ever, La Strada invites audiences to actively take part. In workshops, residents become co-creators in the artistic process. During the first phase of Graz on the Move, participants can work alongside Johannes Bellinkx & Benjamin Vandewalle to develop a choreography for and with public space. In his participatory performance Care to carry, Dutch artist Nick Steur explores mindfulness and responsibility towards others. In collaboration with Caritas Steiermark and local participants, Zwermers are developing Worn out?, a textile portrait of the city. At Freiheitsplatz, audiences become part of the performance as they are invited to make music together with Compagnie du Coin.

The community art project Signal vom Dachstein, launched around the glacier in 2021, will also make its way to Graz this year. It will be presented as an audiovisual installation at Atelier Jungwirth.