Backslash Festival

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

It’s been worth the wait: in just 9 days, from 2 to 4 October, the Backslash Festival will open its doors once again, presenting two nights in which performances, live acts, DJ sets and installations will fill the spaces at Gessnerallee. Over the course of two long evenings, 25 artists from the international, national and local scenes will take to the stage in a variety of ways.

It’s well worth popping in on both festival evenings and staying for a very long time. To mark the 10th anniversary, journalist Lara Blatter takes stock with Alex Gaeng, Laura-Maria Drage and Cristiana Stella in the Gessnerallee newspaper. They discuss a festival that straddles club culture and performance art, inviting its audience to step outside their comfort zone. Read the interview (only in German) and get tickets.

An overview of the Backslash Festival programme

Friday, 2 October

8.00 pm ‘BODIES AND SUBWOOFERS (B.A.S.) 6.0: TRIPLE R-45’ by Stefanie Egedy, installation, West Hall

9.00 pm Ohm Sweet, live act, Stall6

10.00 pm Ula Liagaitė, performance, North Wing

10.00 pm STREIKTHROUGH, live act, East Hall

11.00 pm 36birds, DJ set, North Wing

11.00 pm Pezo & upsammy present Eerie Enterprise, live act, East Hall

Saturday, 3 October

9.00 pm ‘SHOUT TWICE’, Mélissa Guex & Katerina Andreou, performance, West Hall

9.00 pm francine satu, live act, Stall6

8.00 pm ‘Coalescence’ by Bast Hippocrate & William Cardoso, performance, North Wing

10.00 pm kris mess, East Hall

11.00 pm ‘symbiogenesis’ by Margaretha Jüngling, Alina Arshi & Luc Häfliger, performance, North Wing

11.00 pm crp, live act, East Hall

12.00 am Aa Sudd, live act, North Wing

1.00 am Souzo, live act, North Wing

1.00 am Buttechno, live act, East Hall

2.00 am ophélie, DJ set, North Wing

2.00 am ‘touching waves #1’ by Martín M. Wollmann & Yin Haolong, performance, West Hall

4.00 am MÂNAA b2b Caramelo Gabanna, live act, North Wing

Now for the weekly round-up of programme recommendations, newspaper articles, news and everything else we’d like to share with you.

This week’s programme highlight

‘The New Uncertainty – Love Edition’ by Fatima Moumouni with ஸ்வஸ்தி சிவசண்முகநாத சர்மா / Swassthi Sivasanmukanatha Sarma

25 September, 8 pm

The conversational experiment on a ‘safer space for uncertainty’ – this time on the topic ‘Where, how, what is “community”?’. It explores how to navigate privilege within struggles and communities. And it addresses Black-Tamil alliances, as well as the lack of such alliances, exclusions, disappointments – and hopes. The event is sold out. A few remaining tickets are available at the box office.

‘KörperArchiv(e) in Resonanz’ by the collective dance me to the end

27 September, 5 pm

The opening of the Gessnerallee Theatre in 1989 was a milestone for Zurich’s independent dance and theatre scene. Almost four decades later, the collective ‘dance me to the end’ – comprising eight dancers aged 60 and over – explores how their bodies resonate with this venue and its history from a contemporary perspective. A space for remembrance, discussions and a performance mark the conclusion of a multi-part research project on bodies as archives and their connection to the Gessnerallee. Admission is free.

Newspaper

‘10 Years of Backslash – No Headliners, No DJ Festival’

The Backslash Festival is celebrating its anniversary. New faces have joined the line-up, which remains as visionary as ever. Journalist Lara Blatter takes stock with Alex Gaeng, Laura-Maria Drage and Cristiana Stella. Read the interview (only in German)

‘My Body Is My Story’

How does one age on stage? What challenges do older artists working in the independent scene face? Journalist Aleksandra Hiltmann spoke with Tina Mantel, Phil Hayes and Susanne Abelein about what it means to keep performing, to keep dancing. Read the interview (only in German)

Furthermore

Choreographer Rafaële Giovanola (winner of the GERMAN DANCE PRIZE 2027) from CocoonDance will be leading a three-day intensive workshop (25–27 November 2026) during the Winterthur Dance Festival, culminating in a public performance at the festival.

Ten scholarships will be awarded for the workshop, covering the workshop fee, festival meals, tickets and, if required, accommodation.

Applications, including a CV and a letter of motivation in English, must be submitted by 1 October 2026 to info@tanzinwinterthur.ch. Professional dancers may also take part without a scholarship for CHF 180.–.

We look forward to dancing the night away with you.

The Gessnerallee team