Dear reader
We are starting the 2025/26 season, which marks the second year of the Gessnerallee newspaper. One of our main focuses remains an in-depth examination of the aesthetics of accessibility and our commitment to making the Gessnerallee as comfortable as possible for disabled and deaf artists and guests. This is a lot of fun, but it is not always easy. The visually impaired artist and disability rights activist Fia Neises writes in ‘Ein Gedanke zu Theater’ (A Thought on Theatre): ‘When we are looking for a solution to something that is actually impossible ... then theatre can help here too.’ At the same time, theatre institutions still have a lot to learn.
One of the major challenges for theatres in terms of accessibility lies in the architecture of the building itself. Many venues are old, listed buildings or were built for a different purpose. What they have in common is that people with disabilities were not taken into consideration. In her analytical article, journalist Marguerite Meyer uses the example of the Gessnerallee to trace the tension between accessibility, monument protection and administrative processes.
From building architecture to stage aesthetics: Claire Cunningham, one of Britain's most important disabled artists, is appearing at Gessnerallee this autumn with her production ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’. Author and journalist Anna Miller has written a portrait of the Scottish performer and choreographer, who uses crutches not only as an aid, but also as a central means of artistic expression in her productions.
Also visiting this autumn is the France-based choreographer and dancer Nadia Beugré. Journalist Giulia Bernardi met her for an interview. Together, they delve into the genesis of the new piece ‘Epique! (pour Yikakou)’. They talk about origins and memory, the (re)construction of past events, absence and emptiness.
There are also gaps in the publishing world: more than a decade ago, Anne-Laure Franchette, Patrizia Mazzei and Gloria Wismer founded the collective volumes in Zurich. Together, they developed a platform and an archive with the aim of making underrepresented practices by self-publishing artists and small publishers more visible. In a special section, we learn more about the history of volumes. In addition, Sabrina Fernández Casas and Patricio Gil Flood from the MACACO PRESS collective describe what happens when performance and publishing come together.
This year, you can once again enjoy contributions from familiar authors and formats: photographer Hannah Gottschalk takes us on a photographic journey into the studio of artist Ceylan Öztruk. Artist and musician Rada Leu delights us once again with a comic, this time about the cultural scene in Moldova. Because we enjoy developing new entertainment formats, we are very much looking forward to the regular fashion column. Director, costume designer, composer, sound designer and actress Zainab J Lascandri will kick things off. After all, fashion and theatre have a long history together.
Finally, dramaturge Isabel Gatzke gives us an in-depth insight into the programme focus ‘(Un)gentle Learning’, which marks the start of the new season. It deals with processes of transition, mourning and learning. After all, everyday and radical moments of transgression and change not only shape individual biographies, but are also omnipresent in the events of the world.
Rahel Bains, Kathrin Veser, Miriam Walther
