The Theatre of the Long Now is the promise to stage a contiuous performance over at least 100 years on an urban wasteland in Stuttgart. Since its was founded by an unknown landscaper from Stuttgart in 2014, the theatre’s activities took place completely unrecognised by outsiders. The Theatre of the Long Now is both an installation and a performance:

It has no roof, but an ensemble. It is an institution, but it’s not legally registered. It has an audience, but neither human nor non-human beings will ever witness the whole play. The Theatre of the Long Now is very slow performance art …

In 2017, Ferl+Hertel and Bureau Baubotanik have been named artistic directors of the Theatre of the Long Now for the 2017 season, developing its programme through performative and botanical-architectural interventions. As part of Techne, the Theatre of the Long Now will host performances, festivities, and activities, in response to the evolution of the project.

Countless protagonists act within the Theatre of the Long Now; an emphasis lies on the ground, various institutions, plants, metal parts, and a turtle, as well as a young and an old human. Weather and limited resources, solidarity and political decisions are going to shape the prospective course of its performance. The end of the play is already planned for 2114 – currently the management is discussing a possible extension.

The Theatre of the Long Now is a project by Ferl+Hertel and Bureau Baubotanik at Wagenhallen Stuttgart. The project is developed as part of the production platform Techne and in cooperation with Kunstverein Wagenhalle e.V.