Our festivals
Most people probably know protagon through our festivals, which are certainly the association's largest projects. In addition to the Sommerwerft, a well-known event throughout the city and region, which takes place annually on the banks of the Main River, we also host other regular and one-off events – each with its own focus and charm.
In Frankfurt
July/August
It was 2002 when our largest project began as a small, manageable festival. Today, over two decades later, the Sommerwerft has become a fixture in the independent theater scene and is receiving international attention. In 2019, more than 110,000 visitors attended. Around 200 artists and groups contribute music, dance, theater, poetry, and performance to one of Germany's largest festivals for theater in public space.
Thanks to the free access and the central location at the Wesel shipyard as well as the special, open atmosphere, our offer is more accessible than almost any other.
For 17 days, the Sommerwerft offers a high-quality theater, performance, and music program that invites you to participate.
Anyone who visits the Sommerwerft will experience a major cultural event, largely run by a volunteer organizing team and volunteers. Around 300 people – 200 of them from Frankfurt and 100 more from around the world – are involved and help shape the Sommerwerft.
Frankfurt, Wesel Shipyard
September
Cultural area protagon
The International Women*Theatre Festival (IFTF) has a feminist-intersectional approach and is organized by women* and supporters of protagon eV as well as friends of the festival.
The festival itself develops along the way and is simultaneously the result of this process. The goal is to bring artistic works by women* to the stage in a solidarity-based setting, thereby increasing their visibility in the performing arts.
The project has been taking place since 2017 within the framework of collective structures and collective responsibility, thus making a lasting commitment to an artistic change in the dynamics of power relations.
The International Women*Theatre Festival is part of the Magdalena Project , a dynamic, intercultural network for women interested in theatre.
January/February
Since 2017, the Winterwerft has been the festival for wild, organic theater. For theater at the end of the world as we know it. For theater that dares to look fearlessly, curiously, and questioningly into the abysses of this time. Even before the search for concrete answers, the Winterwerft is a place where a change of perspective is dared to arise through critical, creative questioning. Here, there is space for all approaches from theater, dance, music, poetry, painting, sculpture, and eyewash that change gears, venture into the undergrowth, and embark on a visionary quest.
What can theater do in times of change? Climate change, the energy transition, mass migration—these are waves of change that have long since gripped us. How can theater accompany and manage the social discourse surrounding them? Where can theater provide creative inspiration? The focus is on socio-ecological engagement with reality.
With the Winterwerft, we're implementing "Culture for All" in winter, too. On the cultural grounds of our association for international performing arts, we're organizing a special festival format: For 18 days, we're inviting artists and groups to live, rehearse, train, and research together here at protagon, our performance and production space. Every weekend, as part of the festival program, we'll be presenting the results of this theater laboratory and would like to engage in dialogue with you. We've also invited other regional and international artists to present their work.
Cultural area protagon
We have always realized projects not only in Frankfurt, but also in the Rhine-Main region and beyond. Since 2024, we have been leveraging our many years of experience with events of all sizes and have developed a new format: In cooperation with local partners from the communities, we are organizing a pop-up festival.
Protagon brings organizational experience, equipment, and structure; and its partners provide the local network and know-how. This creates vibrant events lasting one to three days, offering a platform for local artists as well as bringing international acts to the stage.
Would you like to see an event like this in your city? Feel free to contact us.
2026
Ocean & atmosphere
The Unterwegs Theater Festival is back!
From May 8th to 17th, 2026, the cultural association Protagon International Performing Arts is organizing a special festival tour through Hessen. In cooperation with local partners, protagon is bringing the community-building atmosphere that many know from the Sommerwerft festival to the Offenbach district in the form of a mobile festival. The tour goes from Mühlheim (May 8th-10th) via Dreieich/Offenthal (May 11th-13th) to Seligenstadt (May 15th and 16th).
For three days at a time, parks and public squares are transformed into vibrant spaces for theater culture, social interaction, diversity, and dialogue. The program includes impressive theater shows addressing current social issues, interactive children's theater, live music, workshops, and a children's program. This year's theme is water, oceans, and atmosphere.
The program will be announced soon.
Festival dates
May 8-10 Mühlheim am Main, in the Bürgerpark
May 11-13 Dreieich-Offenthal, Festplatz Friedhofstraße
May 15-17 Seligenstadt at the Hans-Memling-Haus
Open Stage
A particular highlight is the Open Stage for local contributions, which will take place at all festival locations. Do you sing in the shower, write poems in your diary, dance in front of the mirror, and secretly dream of sharing your talent with the world?
The open stage at the unterwegs theater festival offers you (or your team, as you can also perform as a group) the opportunity to perform on a stage with a microphone, speakers, and an audience.
Write to us: openstage@protagon.net
Help out
To make the festival a reality, we still need many helping hands: Would you like to bring culture to your region with a diverse, volunteer team? We are looking for help in the bar, kitchen, our crepes-stand, backstage, children space, etc.
Contact us at: unterwegs@protagon.net
The festival will be held without an entrance fee – on a donation basis.
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May 2025
09-11 May Mühlheim am Main
13-14 May Offenthal/Dreieich
16-18 May Seligenstadt
In cooperation with the Frankfurt-based cultural association protagon and local partners, the unterwegs theater festival is taking place for the first time this year: open air and free admission! It creates a completely new space for large and small theater and music formats, for pieces that can be experienced with all the senses and for which a conventional stage is too small and too rectangular.
In times when hatred and aggression are becoming socially acceptable again, we want to come together and encourage an artistic exploration of the forest as a place of cooperation between different living beings. In an open cultural space, we will work with you to create a place for theater culture, social interaction, and dialogue.
Look forward to:
Theatre & Dance,
Live music,
Walk-acts,
Workshops,
Children's program,
Culinary delicacies
To get the festival off the ground, we need a lot of helping hands: Would you like to bring culture to your region with a diverse, volunteer team? Get in touch with: unterwegs@protagon.net
The mobile theatre festival is supported by the Kulturfond Frankfurt RheinMain, the Frankfurt/Main Airport Foundation and the European Union as part of the Creative Europe project TREES.
Offenthal program
