Music, scent, flamenco

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

A small milestone of our own: you are currently reading our 100th weekly letter! Since the start of our new theatre direction, we’ve been keeping you updated week by week on the Gessnerallee programme, sharing articles from our newspaper and exploring topics that are close to our hearts. We’re delighted to have all of you reading along regularly – and of course even more so when we meet at Gessnerallee. You can find all previous weekly newsletters here in the overview.

And now on to two artistic highlights in November:

On 12 and 16 November, we’re celebrating two Zurich premieres in quick succession: ‘Pigeons Shirt 9.99 $’ by PRICE and ‘strike’ by Wu Tsang & Moved by the Motion. The works of these local artists are united by an intense engagement with music and an unconventional, interdisciplinary approach.

At the same time, their artistic styles could hardly be more different. Our recommendation: it’s best to come twice.

Somewhere between a live concert and a listening session, ‘Pigeons Shirt, 9.99 $’ by PRICE (12 and 14 November) blurs the boundaries between advertising, costume, space, sound and scent. The lyrics on the record range from love, sex, intimacy, trust, desire, consumerism, violence and self-harm – intermingled with a language drawn from pornography, therapy, dating apps and brand culture. Together with the brilliant musicians Modulaw, Billy Albion and Joseph Schiano di Lombo, PRICE creates a hybrid of record release, concert and advertising. If you want to find out more, you should definitely have a listen to the audio flyer on our website. The premiere is already sold out. Get tickets

‘When the flamenco begins, everyone pauses,’ says Wu Tsang in an interview (only in German) with Gessnerallee dramaturg Isabel Gatzke, describing the force with which flamenco dance and music dominate the space. Wu Tsang, who has always been a fan of opera, has been exploring the Carmen myth for over six years. In 2023, in collaboration with her collective Moved by the Motion, she first created the large-scale work ‘Carmen’ at the Schauspielhaus Zürich. Since 2025, Wu Tsang and Moved by the Motion have been working regularly at the Gessnerallee, thereby returning to an experimental working method with which the company is familiar. Their continued exploration of the Carmen myth gave rise to the multidisciplinary work ‘strike’, which premiered at NTGent in April 2026 and will finally be performed in Zurich from 16 to 18 November 2026. In this multidisciplinary performance, fragments of the Carmen myth are torn apart and reassembled in collaboration with flamenco artists, through live improvisations and the superimposition of sound and video. The result is less a retelling than an excavation – an attempt to uncover the violence hidden within the beauty of this legend. The event is already sold out. However, it’s worth popping by the box office, as a few remaining tickets are still available there.

For fans of Wu Tsang, Moved by the Motion or PRICE: PRICE played the stunning duck in Wu Tsang’s ‘Robin Hood’.

Now for the weekly round-up of programme highlights, newspaper articles, news and everything we want to share with you:

Programme recommendation of the week

‘How do we prevent femicides?’ – CORRECTIV.Schweiz

4 November, 7.30 pm

Around 115 women and girls have been killed in Switzerland over the past five years by men from their immediate family circle. Despite preventive measures, femicides continue to occur – including those committed by perpetrators already known to the authorities. CORRECTIV.Schweiz discusses with Mathis Kelemen from the St. Gallen Cantonal Police, Pia Allemann from the BIF counselling centre and legal psychologist Astrid Rossegger what effective protection against violence might look like. The event is already sold out. However, it’s worth popping by the box office, as a few remaining tickets are still available there.

‘MOUMOUNI LATE NIGHT SHOW’ – Fatima Moumouni & Guests

6 November, 8 pm

‘Take a look at Switzerland too!’ The late-night show from the DIASBOAH platform is entering its third series – with a new look, at a new venue and, this time, with Fatima Moumouni as host. VOLUME 3 is a narrative of contemporary Switzerland, a country that hasn’t quite caught up with itself yet. It ranges from gossip to political analysis, rants to high culture, resistance to entertainment. Featuring guests who have opinions and are making the world a better place. From around 10.30 pm, the party continues with MALEFI SOUNDSYSTEM. The show is already sold out, but it’s worth popping along to the box office to see if there are any remaining tickets. No tickets are needed for the after-party!

‘KNOR – EVERY NOW AND THEN – RELEASE FEST!’ – KNOR

7 November, 9.00 pm

Georg Bleikolm, aka KNOR, returns to the stage with his new album ‘Every Now and Then’. Across seven tracks, Krautrock, desert rock, psychedelia and electro fuse into an energetic sound that straddles the familiar and the new, with plenty of drive heading for the dancefloor. Live, KNOR is accompanied by Daniel Treystman on drums and Laurent Meteau on guitar. Buy Tickets

‘Batbait’ – Children’s concert

8 November, 3 pm

Distorted guitars, driving rhythms and plenty of defiance: the four female musicians of Batbait develop their unmistakable sound beyond conventional rock genres. Amidst distortion, swathes of reverb and experimental rhythms, they create music that celebrates self-determination and independence – uncompromising, multi-layered and radically original. Buy tickets

Newspaper

‘When the flamenco begins, everyone pauses’ (only in German)

Wu Tsang in conversation with Gessnerallee dramaturg Isabel Gatzke about the opera character Carmen, the potential of engagement, and how the collective Moved by the Motion rediscovered non-narrative forms and intimacy in ‘strike’. Read the article

Concerts for the youngest and most discerning audiences (only in German)
Since 2014, Nadja Furrer has been organising a series of children’s concerts at Stall6. During a meeting in the summer break, she tells journalist Timo Posselt that the magic created between the audience and the bands is anything but a given. Read the article

Furthermore

We would like to draw your attention to an internship vacancy at the LAB – Junges Theater Zürich.

The LAB is looking for teenagers or young adults aged between 18 and 24 who are interested in an internship between February and November 2027. The placement offers an in-depth insight into the work of the LAB and involves assisting with both the 26/27 annual project ‘schaffä’ at the Gessnerallee and the 2027 intensive project ‘DARE’ at the Zirkusquartier. It also includes taking part in management team meetings and helping with organisational tasks. More information

We wish you a good second half of the week.

The Gessnerallee team