Listening before it’s too late

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

Theatre maker and director Rebekka Bangerter presents ‘Mutterzungen’, a poetic exploration of endangered languages. Solange P. Molu (a linguist who speaks Bamun), Asa Hendry (an author who speaks Romansh) and Felicia Touvenot (a language activist who speaks Sorbian) contribute their expertise as activists and artists – at a time when linguistic diversity is disappearing worldwide faster than ever before in human history. Around 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide. Of these, only about 65 are considered secure, and almost half of the languages spoken today are at risk of disappearing within the next few generations.

But what is lost when a language disappears? Not just words, but knowledge, memories, worldviews, relationships and ways of describing and understanding the world.

For the 8th edition of our newspaper, Rebekka Bangerter exchanged letters with the writer Julia Weber on the subject of language: on the sound in which one feels most at home, on the absence of a language of emotions as a counterpart to the language of reason – and on the most beautiful kind of listening:

‘In the dark. With your whole body. But also: the freshness of listening to someone in person again, after having heard them only on the phone for a long time. With physical contact. With time. What I try to do, though of course I often fail: listening without already thinking I know what the person is going to say. That is perhaps the most beautiful kind of listening.’

The newspaper will be published in time for the premiere on 11 June – you can pre-order it now by emailing zeitung@gessnerallee.ch. And secure your tickets for the performances of ‘Mutterzungen’ now.

Now for the weekly overview of programme highlights and everything we want to share with you:

Programme

23 May, 8 pm

‘The New Uncertainty – Love Edition’ by Fatima Moumouni

Zurich-based artist Fatima Moumouni continues her discussion series “The New Uncertainty – Disco Edition”! Here, uncertainty isn’t hidden: a format that seeks the ‘um’, shares doubts – far removed from the eternal, annoying ‘WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO?’. This time’s guest: presenter, actress and performer Kübra Sekin. The theme is love. The evening will be rounded off with a comedy set by Edwin Ramirez and karaoke. Tickets

27 May, 8 pm

‘Sue Ellen Bar’

The Sue Ellen Bar presents an evening of intense, experimental sounds at Stall6. The line-up: Sexuelle Abstinenz, I.C.H., Xeno Volcano, B.Anana and DJ Daniela Alleine. Free entry, with a collection. More information

3 June, 7.30 pm

‘Data leaks with political explosive power and cross-border journalism’ , WOZ – Die Wochenzeitung

A series of talks organised by the Gessnerallee in cooperation with various editorial teams: once a month, an editorial team selects a key journalistic topic and discusses it live with the audience. This time, the focus is on the use of sensitive data leaks, as well as the advantages and challenges of international investigative collaborations. Tickets

Furthermore

How do you experience the Gessnerallee today – and how should it develop in the future? With our audience survey, we invite you to share your perspective with us. As a thank you for taking part, you will receive a voucher for a Gessnerallee event. The survey runs until 22 May 2026.

We would be delighted if you could also forward the survey to colleagues, friends and acquaintances: Gessnerallee audience survey

We wish you a good second half of the week.

The Gessnerallee team