The Wiener Festwochen 2026 features the production “9/11 Frames Per Second,” a theatrical work directed by Stefan Kaegi of Rimini Protokoll. Premiering this June in Vienna, the piece explores the global proliferation of images following the September 11 attacks, utilizing a didactic performance style to examine historical memory and visual culture.
Rimini Protokoll and the Architecture of Memory
The Wiener Festwochen, Vienna’s long-standing multidisciplinary arts festival, has maintained its reputation for programming works that challenge the intersection of history and modern media. In the 2026 iteration, the festival showcases the latest project from the Berlin-based collective Rimini Protokoll. Stefan Kaegi, a co-founder of the group known for his work in documentary theater and immersive audience experiences, centers his latest production on the enduring visual legacy of the 2001 terror attacks in the United States.
The production, titled “9/11 Frames Per Second,” does not attempt to reconstruct the events of that day through traditional narrative drama. Instead, it functions as a critical inquiry into how the footage of the attacks became a foundational element of the 21st-century digital consciousness. Kaegi utilizes the stage to dissect the mechanics of how these specific images were captured, distributed, and eventually repurposed across varying ideological spectrums.
Theatrical Didacticism and the Role of the Performer
Central to the production’s reception is the performance style employed by the cast. The work adopts a didactic, authoritative approach—a hallmark of Rimini Protokoll’s methodology—where the actors serve as mediators between the archival material and the audience. The staging involves a figure who functions as a guide, providing a structured, almost pedagogical framework to navigate the intense and often distressing imagery associated with the subject matter.
This directorial choice has sparked professional discussion regarding the ethics of representation. By adopting a persona that exerts control over the delivery of traumatic history, the production forces the audience to confront their own role as consumers of historical tragedy. The interaction between the performer and the screen-based media is designed to expose the artificiality of the news cycle, stripping away the veneer of objective reporting to reveal the underlying editorial decisions that define collective memory.
The stage becomes a laboratory where we observe not the event itself, but the afterlife of the event within the archive. We are not interested in the shock value of the footage, but in the structural impact that these frames have had on the way we perceive global conflict and state security over the past quarter-century.
Stefan Kaegi, Director
Visual Culture and Public Discourse in 2026
As of June 2026, the discourse surrounding “9/11 Frames Per Second” reflects a broader trend in European theater: the move toward institutionalizing historical critique. The Wiener Festwochen has positioned the play as a central pillar of its programming, emphasizing the necessity of re-examining the foundational traumas of the post-Cold War era.
For the contemporary viewer, the play functions as an autopsy of the digital age. It highlights how the proliferation of mobile phone footage and amateur recordings, which were nascent concepts in 2001, have since become the primary mode of documenting geopolitical instability. The production’s insistence on a formal, almost clinical delivery ensures that the experience remains analytical rather than purely emotional, a distinction that has been noted by critics attending the early performances in Vienna.
The reliance on a controlled, authoritative persona on stage serves to mirror the state’s own attempts to narrate history. By juxtaposing the raw, visceral nature of the 9/11 footage with a highly disciplined theatrical performance, Kaegi prompts an examination of how power structures utilize visual evidence to justify policy shifts and social cohesion strategies.
The Future of Historical Inquiry on Stage
The production remains one of the most discussed entries in the 2026 festival schedule, primarily due to its refusal to offer easy catharsis. In an era where the public is inundated with real-time visual data, “9/11 Frames Per Second” provides a necessary pause for reflection. The work suggests that the act of viewing is never neutral; it is a political engagement that carries significant weight for both the individual and the state.
As the festival continues through the month, the impact of the production will likely be measured by the debates it initiates regarding the ethics of archival use. Whether this specific approach to didactic performance will influence future works covering contemporary history remains to be seen, but for now, it stands as a significant contribution to the ongoing conversation about how Europe processes the defining catastrophes of the recent past. The production will continue its run in Vienna, providing a focal point for audiences seeking to bridge the gap between historical documentation and the performative nature of modern truth.
