Olala: 33.International Street Theatre Festival

23.-27.07.2024

One of the most popular and best-known festivals of its kind in Europe!

 

Olala changes not only the city, but also the people - for longer than the festival week in July.

This year Olala turns the city upside down again in the last week of July and surprises with productions that one would otherwise expect to see in big cities rather than in a small town in the Tyrolean mountains. The programme is wide-ranging, so the different tastes of the audience and the many facets of modern street art are adequately covered here. From large-scale square productions to installations and cabaret with artistry, acrobatics, non-verbal comedy, walk acts and fanfare.

 

The festival and its artists (approx. 30 groups from 14 different countries) regularly transform the sunny town of Lienz into a large open-air cultural arena on the last days of July, enchanting passers-by into curious observers and transforming everyday life into a sensual cultural experience. Always on the lookout for something new, the festival combines elements from art, theatre and circus and thus presents new contemporary forms of performative staging.

 

Whimsical, poetically enchanting, uproariously funny, breathtaking - a few keywords that describe the festival pretty well.

Olala - what a theater

A lively hustle and bustle prevails every year in the city center of Lienz, one could almost describe it as restless and excited. Austrian dialect mixes with languages from all parts of the world, a teeming of voices, accents, laughter. Olala is what it's called, Osttirol's street festival. Every year all the artists, performers and onlookers come together to celebrate. To laugh. To marvel. Olala - an exclamation of admiration.

An unconventional circus

Unconventional, innovative, somewhere even anarchistic. Olala breaks the rules - the unspoken rules of living together, the rules of behavior, the rules of attitude. In fact, the artists set their own rules, without overstepping the boundaries of togetherness. Above all, it is about taking the citizens out of their comfort zone , opening theireyes to the joys of everyday life. To get them away from the doctrine of restraint and to bring the circus to the people. This is how they come together, people from all countries, from all cultures, from all professions. The artists manifest their openness and carefreeness and project this attitude towards life onto the audience. Here, no one cares about superficiality or outward appearances. Much more, the commonality and the fun of the music and the performances are in the foreground.

Seeing the art in people

Olala is more than a colorful circus, more than quantitative art. It is a breaking down of norms, a lot of social criticism, lovingly packed into breathtaking performances and memorable displays. No compulsion, but still an incentive to think. For what would art be if it were not also critical, loud, colorful? And yet Olala is different. The street festival gives life, feelings and empathy to the substance of art. Unlike painting on a piece of paper or forming sculptures, the dichotomy between art and man in the theater is non-existent at Olala. Man is art, art is man.

What we have left

Olala teaches respect. Respect for fellow human beings, respect for being different, respect for oneself. That the seriousness of life can wait. And as serious, as sad, as bad as some times seem to be, in the end the joy of being together, of being together, is never lost. Olala also teaches to appreciate. The simplicity. The fun of life. The wonder. Because when the children's eyes in the audience begin to light up and the adults cheer in fascination, the artists of Olala have achieved their goal: to push reality aside for a moment and enjoy the moment of enthusiasm. Unconditionally.

 

Started on 25.07., the festival ends again five days later. Five days that have captivated an entire city. So they leave again, the artists:inside and with them the performances. But what remains are the memories. Memories of cheerful evenings, of carefree togetherness, of spectacular performances. See you next time, Olala. It was nice.

Kulturverein UmmiGummi
Hans Mutschlechner
9900 Lienz
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