Michiel Vandevelde, Pankaj Tiwari, and Eneas Prawdzic

They are discontented, reject today’s social order, and have voted for the Right recently: young men. Hardly any other demographic contributes more to the rise of right-wing parties—both globally and here in Austria. After working with left-wing youth, Michiel Vandevelde, Pankaj Tiwari, and Eneas Prawdzic have immersed themselves in the opposite camp for steirischer herbst. The result is a confrontational and physical performance featuring five young men. They demand an end to liberal democracy and believe they will soon be in the majority. Violenza 2025 is a disturbing preview of what could happen if their predictions prove correct.

Michiel Vandevelde (1990, Leuven, Belgium) is a choreographer, curator, and writer. A common thread of political and artistic activism runs through his practice, which spans choreography, discourse, and performance. His work has been shown at institutions such as Münchner Kammerspiele; PACT Zollverein, Essen; Wiener Festwochen; and Neumarkt, Zurich. Vandevelde was an artist in residence at Kaaitheater, Brussels (2017–21), and Dans in Brugge (2023–25) and is taking over CAMPO arts center, Ghent, as artistic director in October 2025. He lives in Brussels.

Pankaj Tiwari (1990, Balrampur, India) is an artist and curator. Among others, he was a cocurator at Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, Zurich (2020–23), and curated the festival Object, Memory and Migration for the University of Minnesota (2021–23). Tiwari was also the creative director of the Indian performance group The Fotons (2011–18). His work has been shown at Holland Festival, Amsterdam; SPIELART Festival, Munich; Belluard Bollwerk, Fribourg; Zürcher Theater Spektakel; Radialsystem, Berlin; Santarcangelo Festival; HAU, Berlin; deSingel, Amsterdam; and many more. He lives in Amsterdam.

Eneas Prawdzic (1989, Zurich, Switzerland) is codirector of the theater company Proberaum Zukunft and served as dramaturge at Neumarkt, Zurich, from 2019 to 2025. Before working in theater, he was active in politics as a press officer and campaign manager. His political background shapes his view of theater as a space for reflecting on and testing desirable futures. His projects include the “pre-enactment” Die Jahrtausendflut with Proberaum Zukunft and 100 Ways to Say We, a digital archive of the future Prawdzic cocreated with Florian Malzacher, Hayat Erdoğan, and the Goethe-Institut for the 2021 Venice Biennale of Architecture. Prawdzic lives in Zurich.