Volkstheater Wien – which is currently under construction – will open its doors in January 2021 under the artistic direction of Kay Voges. The season will start with a diverse spectrum of protagonists and activists, creating a scenery of interdisciplinary art forms. The main emphasis of our programme is going to be human existence within a digital modern world. The main productions will be framed by additional events like international talks about contemporary concepts of nature and technology as well as visual arts and curated musical programmes – including concerts, parties, installations and guest performances. Next to our main stage, smaller experimental performances will take place in a smaller studio stage called Dunkelkammer; queer and pop-discursive events will be held in the Rote Bar theatre. Moreover, Volkstheater Wien has a long tradition of touring the nineteen districts of Vienna, which we will continue with a documentary interpretation of the citizens’ stage concept.
Voges was the artistic director of Schauspiel Dortmund from 2010 to 2020. He has worked as a director for both drama and opera since 1998, at Schauspiel Dortmund, Burgtheater Wien, Staatsoper Hannover, Oper Dortmund, Schauspiel Frankfurt, Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Staatstheater Kassel, Theater Magdeburg, Theater Bonn and the theatres of Münster and Moers. His productions have received various awards: Einige Nachrichten an das All won the prize for best production at the NRW-Theatertreffen festival in 2013. A film about this production received awards at the ArtDocs International Film Festival in St. Petersburg and at the Sunset Film Festival Los Angeles. Voges’s theatre adaption of Thomas Vinterberg’s movie Das Fest was nominated for the DER FAUST award in 2013 in the category of best drama. In 2003, Voges won the North Rhine-Westphalian award for emerging director, winning the Prize for outstanding artistic achievement three times as well as the audience choice award at the NRW-Theatertreffen for children’s and young people’s theatre.
