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Nestroy Awards: Emotional review and great theater talents honored!
On November 23rd, 2025, outstanding achievements in theater were honored at the Nestroy Awards in Vienna, including Itay Tiran and Martin Schwab.
Nestroy Awards: Emotional review and great theater talents honored!
This year's Nestroy Awards honored artistic achievements that reflect not only the theater but also society. The actor Itay Tiran received one of the coveted awards for his supporting role in Milo Rau's production of Elfriede Jelinek's work. In his emotional acceptance speech, Tiran recalled that we must preserve memories of the horrors of the Holocaust in order not to lose sight of current conflicts. He remembered his grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, and noted: “We did not survive this to destroy another people.”
The award ceremony received a great response, not least because Julia Riedler was honored for her outstanding performance in the folk theater production “Fräulein Else”. Leonie Böhm was also honored for best director and set an example for the transformative power of solidarity and cohesion.
Awards and honors
The list of award winners is long and diverse:
- Nils Arztmann: Beste männliche Rollendarstellung für „Das Vermächtnis“
- Sara Ostertag: Beste Bundesländer-Aufführung für „The Broken Circle“ im Linzer Landestheater
- Eve Leigh: Autor:innenpreis für „Verbranntes Land (Salty Irina)“
- Spezialpreis: Installation „[EOL]. End of Life – Eine virtuelle Ruinenlandschaft“ von DARUM
- Flirty Horse Art Collective: Beste Off-Produktion mit „Die Düntzer Rhapsodie“
- Pauline Großmann: Nachwuchspreis für ihre Rolle in „Gabriel“ am Salzburger Landestheater
- Lena Riemer: Bester Nachwuchs in den Kategorien Autor:in, Kostüme, Regie für „aufstiegskörper. ein fühlversuch.“
- Philipp Stölzl: Beste Ausstattung für „Liliom“ am Burgtheater
- Schauspielhaus Hamburg: Beste Aufführung im deutschsprachigen Raum mit „Die Maschine oder: Über den Gipfeln ist Ruh“
- Petra Alexandra Pippan: Publikumspreis
- Martin Schwab: Lebenswerk-Preis, wobei er seine Dankbarkeit mit einem Gedicht zum Ausdruck brachte.
The Austrian Minister of Culture Andreas Babler emphasized the importance of theater as a place of diversity and intercultural dialogue. Vienna's City Councilor for Culture Veronica Kaup-Hasler also noted that theater is not only art, but also makes a valuable contribution to resolving social tensions.
Theater as a place of remembrance
The commemoration of the Holocaust is receiving new impetus through various initiatives. The Israeli memorial Yad Vashem drives the connection between theater and memorial work. In view of the dwindling circle of contemporary witnesses, theater is used as a means of keeping memories alive. A new amphitheater at Yad Vashem will be used to commemorate through performances the mass destruction that affected many Jewish communities and underscore the relevance of this history to the present.
In summary, this year's Nestroy Awards not only brought artistic recognition, but also opened a thoughtful space about our responsibility towards history. Theater remains a powerful medium that both entertains and provokes thought.