OUTNOW! is back—poetic, political, and glamorous. As a platform for artists and collectives at the start of their professional careers, the festival presents current trends in the performing arts from May 21 to 25.

This year’s jury selection unfolds a broad spectrum ranging from dance, performance, and theater to audio walks, lip-sync, and immersive lectures. Radical in form yet tender in their encounters, the works reveal perspectives, interconnections, and spaces of tension—and release—in our present.

In the audio walk »Hybrid Calls For Small Demonstrations: #2 Bremen-Tehran«, Farhan Sonboldel brings Iranian reality to life in Bremen’s everyday public spaces. This gives rise to fleeting, performative demonstrations in a hybrid space. With the double bill »COCONUT / the new white aesthetic«, kemelo nozipho sehlapelo presents two dance (non-)performances that together form a resonant space for the Black diaspora. Between statuesque images and shattered ballet figures, the performers hint at a polychromatic story beyond the white gaze. »THIS IS A LOVE STORY« by Soroa Lear oscillates between dance theater and lecture, telling a story about Cuba and the diaspora, about family and queer love—as well as about longing as an outlet for grief. In »Save A Horse, Ride A Cowgirl – An *explicit* Pony Tale«, Sandyatemyheart leads us into the horseland of femmes and butches, where Lesbian Law reigns. A lip-sync ­musical that blends DIY performance, queer­feminist theory, and a healthy dose of glamour. The everyday conflict of multiple identities is the focus of »Hörst du mich? – Über viet-deutsche Sprachlosigkeit« Benjamin Truong discusses the failure of communication and language from the perspective of second-generation Vietnamese-Germans. Finally, Tamira Kalmbach and her team* embark on a biographical journey to Bavaria. How does a Black woman fit in in the land of white sausages? Is a dirndl enough? The immersive lecture-performance »Mia San Mia« delves into the customs, mysteries, and truths of Oktoberfest.

In addition to the presentation of these six selected productions, WHATNOW?—­a comprehensive accompanying program—­runs throughout this year’s festival edition. Through exchange formats such as workshops, reflection sessions, artist talks, a reading, and a residency, we explore forms for an accessible and communal art and festival practice. Ten independent performing arts practitioners will accompany us as Festival Companions, participating in all productions and formats and sharing their reflections on the festival.

What moves us, what challenges us, what stays with us? Only with you will it be truly perfect. OUTNOW! invites you: Come by and make the festival your own!
Your Festival Team

Anna K. Becker
Viktor Lamert
Johannes Schürmann,
Jordan Tanner