jung & jede*r
From spring to the end of August, the jung & jede*r productions tour the City and State of Salzburg: plays and musical theatre for children, teenagers and families.
Young Kri moves to a village – and chooses the run-down, disused bus stop, of all places, as her home. Irritated, the villagers have to decide: should they help her – or run her out of town? The youth play Kri by the Upper Austrian author Stefan Wipplinger won the Retzhof Drama Award in 2025. “Being a stranger, and how people are turned into strangers by prejudice and clichéd notions held by society’s majority, is the central topic here. A girl without fixed and prejudiced opinions destroys the cliché image of a stranger, reacting to nosy people with wit and insolence. Finally, the village community changes its mind. But will Kri stay?” Thus, director Tanju Girişken described the drama production KRI for children aged 10 and up at the start of rehearsals.
With Holle! by Sebastian Schwab, a piece for a singer and two instrumentalists performing on pianoforte and clarinet, the 2026 programme also features a miniature children’s opera for an audience aged 7 and up, directed by Catharina von Bülow (a co-production with the MusikTheater an der Wien). Frau Holle really has her hands full – she’s in charge of the seasons and the weather, after all. No matter what she does, she can’t make everyone happy. Eventually, Frau Holle snaps: she needs a well-earned break. Her two assistants have to take responsibility for the climate and seasons.
The two mobile productions Kri and Holle! will start touring from March onwards, presented “From Abtenau to Zell am See”, i.e. throughout the State of Salzburg, inviting school classes to performances in cooperation with local cultural associations and schools. Kri and Holle! will also be performed as part of the Festival’s summer schedule at the Schauspielhaus, the regular venue for performances of the youth programme jung&jede*r.
The premiere of the opera King Arthur Junior will also take place there on 26 July 2026. Composer Gordon Kampe was inspired by the music of Henry Purcell to create a new version of the baroque opera. Fabiola Kuonen, who wrote the libretto for the opera and also directs the production, tells a story about friendship and trust, in contrast to struggles about competition and power, for Arthur, Oswaldine and Emmeline are originally friends. When the great sorcerer Merlin appoints his son Arthur his successor, their friendship is put to the test. Five vocalists participating in the Young Singers Project join a puppeteer and a ten-piece orchestra and venture into the magical forest, where they meet ghosts, mirages, false hopes and unrealistic demands of oneself.
Once again, 6,000 youth tickets invite young visitors (up to the age of 27) to enjoy up to 90% discount on tickets this coming summer. Details of this offer will be published on the website from May 2026 onwards.
Festival newbies are also invited to take their first steps into the Festival’s world as part of the successful programme of Festival mentorships.
Ursula Gessat
First published in the Festival insert of Salzburger Nachrichten
