A reason to celebrate

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

As part of our focus on accessibility and age diversity, we are constantly experimenting with conditions that enable as many visitors as possible to enjoy a pleasant visit to the Gessnerallee. Those who attended the children's concert with Rita Roof at Stall6 last weekend may have experienced how relaxed and exciting live music can be for young and old alike.

At the ‘Relaxed Partying’ workshop on 6 and 7 February, we will be addressing the question of how celebrations and party formats can be made accessible for neurodivergent and chronically ill people. Lovis Heuss has been active as an artist, DJ (Midnight Snack Collective) and drag artist (The Heart Throb Mob) and, together with Gessnerallee and interested event organisers and communities, will explore how neurodivergent and chronically ill knowledge and counselling expertise can be better utilised in the context of partying.

The first day offers an introduction to the topics of neurodiversity and chronic illness. It is aimed at clubs, organisations, collectives and other individuals from the party scene who want to learn more about accessibility. In addition to an introduction to neurodiversity and accessibility by Lovis Heuss, there will be input from the Barrierefrei Feiern (Barrier-Free Partying) initiative (Germany) and opportunities for discussion.

The second day is specifically aimed at neurodivergent and chronically ill communities to gather different needs and accessibility requirements, to network and to jointly imagine new formats for accessible partying. The day will be rounded off with an online input from Byron Vincent, founder of the club format ‘Disco Neurotico’ from England.

The potential for change is enormous when people with disabilities not only participate in events as visitors, but can also make decisions about the programme, aesthetics and structures themselves. If you would like to learn more about what is meant by disabled leadership, you can gain insight from the analysis ‘Schluss mit Tokenismus’ (Ending Tokenism) by journalist Marah Rikli in the Gessnerallee Zeitung.

Now for the weekly overview of the programme, newspaper articles, news and everything else we want to share with you:

Programme

29, 30, 31 January

‘Wen Keng We Meet? – On Connection’ by RRRRRR Collective

The Euro-Asian RRRRRR Collective, consisting of Keng Chen, Wen-Chi Liu, Dino Radoncic, Eneas Prawdzic, Nathalie Stirnimann and Stefan Stojanovic, explores the question of how we can remain connected despite the return of borders, divisions and geopolitical tensions. There are only a few tickets left. More information

1 February

Sharing of the ‘Pain Lab’ by Lyn Bentschik

A laboratory for artistic research, exchange and inspiration that deals thematically with chronic, invisible pain (physical and/or psychological). It offers eight artists the opportunity to explore the creative and political potential of chronic pain together. At the end of the week, the group invites the public to a panel discussion with Lyn Bentschik, Laura Higson, Angela Alves and Swassthi Sivasanmukanatha Sarma, moderated by Nina Mühlemann. The event is free of charge. More information

5 to 8 February

‘Raskrsnice’ by Kursk

What do Indian migrant workers on a large Chinese construction site in Serbia tell us about solidarity in labour struggles in global capitalism? ‘Raskrsnice’ (Serbian for ‘crossroads’) is a documentary theatre play about exploitation and labour struggles. In collaboration with Indian migrant workers on a Chinese construction site in Serbia, ‘Raskrsnice’ shows how solidarity struggles are prevented by large corporations, as they often operate beyond national legal jurisdictions. It also shows how such solidarity struggles can still succeed in cooperation with local trade unions, NGOs and committed citizens. More information

You can find an overview of the 2025/26 programme on our website.

Newspaper

‘Aesthetics of Access – exploring artistic accessibility’ by Noa Winter

One focus of the curatorial and dramaturgical work at Gessnerallee is aesthetics of access. Find out what this is and what it involves in this article. Read article

‘End tokenism’ by Marah Rikli

Accessible formats such as relaxed performances have opened up theatres and created access. But real change only comes about when people with disabilities are not just sitting in the audience, but are making decisions themselves – about programmes, aesthetics and structures. Read the article (only in German)

‘The need for action is sitting on the ground floor’ by Marguerite Meyer

Accessibility, monument protection and administrative processes – the holy trinity of the impossible? How one theatre deals with this tension. Read the article (only in German)

We are looking forward to tomorrow's premiere of ‘Wen Keng We Meet? – On Connection’ – for anyone who is interested or doesn't have plans for the coming evenings: buy your tickets now.

The Gessnerallee team