The Nature of the Original: Festival Opening with Harald Lesch, Rainer Bock, and Dr. Francesca Ferlaino

8:30 p.m. Rainer Bock & Harald Lesch read Hüsch—Comfort and Strength in These Times

With actor Rainer Bock (“The White Ribbon,” “Better Call Saul”) and astrophysicist, science journalist, and television host Harald Lesch (“Lesch’s Cosmos,” “Terra X”), two distinct voices bring Hanns Dieter Hüsch’s texts to life.

Under the title “Comfort and Strength in These Times,” they create a space for Hüsch’s profound world of thought—and for his wordplay, underpinned by linguistic precision.

Hüsch’s poetic and literary cabaret, characterized by subtle irony and social commentary, has resonated with generations. He would have turned 100 in 2025. His works live on.

These are sentences that do not explain but rather provoke; that do not conclude but rather lead on—and it is precisely in this way that they have their effect.

The result is an evening of reflection, conversation, and quiet laughter, with a unique atmosphere all its own.

Lecture by Dr. Francesca Ferlaino

Francesca Ferlaino, a physicist and “Scientist of the Year,” one of the leading voices in contemporary research, will open the Fö N Festival 2026.

As a professor of experimental physics at the University of Innsbruck and director of IQOQI, she studies states of matter that defy our everyday understanding. Her research, which has received numerous awards, is recognized internationally as one of the most significant contributions to her field.

At the same time, she is committed to bringing about structural change in academia, for example through the Atom*innen network, which supports women in physics.

Her opening speech sets the tone for the festival—as an invitation to embrace what cannot yet be clearly defined.