Dear Festival Guests, Dear JES Visitors,

Welcome to the 10th BRIGHT VIEW at Junges Ensemble Stuttgart! This edition of our international festival is a very special one, especially for the both of us: it’s not only an anniversary, but also a farewell. At the end of the festival, we’ll hand over the baton of artistic direction to the future JES artistic director Grete Pagan and her artistic codirector Frederic Lilje. Of course, we will enjoy this last edition under our direction to the fullest.

As always, the festival features selected international guest performances, highlights of theatre for young audiences, which give aesthetic and thematic impulses. This year, we have focused on inviting theatres, companies and artists who have been on the guest list of the festival multiple times over the past 20 years and have enthralled Stuttgart audiences. These include Sgaramusch from Switzerland, BRONKS from Belgium, the Magnet Theatre from South Africa and, last but not least, the international theatre company NIE. And of course, we are just as excited about companies that are (finally) guests at BRIGHT VIEW for the first time, such as kabinet k and ultima vez.

As always, BRIGHT VIEW includes not only international guest performances but also the work meeting of the Baden-Württemberg Children's and Youth Theatre Days. Here we look forward to seven productions, the presentation of the Baden-Württemberg Youth Theatre Prize and many expert discussions.

And finally, as always, the promotion of young talent in the context of the festival is particularly important to us, which is why we especially look forward to ten young artists from four different continents. For the first time, these artists are not called Next Generation, but New Generation instead. The New Generation also includes students from Hildesheim, Ludwigsburg and from the MHDK Stuttgart, whom we are looking forward to just as much as the festival philosophers, 8 to 10 young people between the ages of 10 and 16.

As always, the festival character of BRIGHT VIEW is particularly important, including parties and get-togethers every evening in the festival centre with live music and DJ*anes.

And so, we welcome you to join us in celebrating Theatre for Young Audiences in all its different facets!

Sincerely