Only three weeks until the start of the season

Dear Gessnerallee visitors, dear culture enthusiasts, dear artists

It's steadily becoming more exciting.

Artists are arriving. Rehearsal rooms are being occupied. Rehearsals for the queer, inclusive performance café ‘Kafi Q’, which will take place in Stall6 three afternoons a week from January 2025 onwards, began last week in Studio 3. Rebekka Bangerter has been in Studio 1 since this Monday for ‘Mutterzungen (AT)’, her research into extinct languages and at the end of the week, Thom Luz will be experimenting with light and fog in the hall in preparation for his new work ‘Tourist Trap’, which will premiere at Kaserne Basel in October and will also be shown at Gessnerallee in January 2025.

Only 4 months until January and three weeks until the start of the season:

On 27/28 September, we will finally open the doors of the newly refurbished Stall6 Bar, the hall, the whole house. The first opening weekend starts with the internationally acclaimed, technically virtuoso and humorous Pinocchio adaptation ‘The Making of Pinocchio’ by artist couple Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill, followed by the energetic concert performance ‘Down (full album)’ by dancer and choreographer Mélissa Guex and percussionist Clement Grin. Because we want to celebrate the start of the season with as many people as possible, we are offering the performance ‘Down (full album)’ free of charge. We recommend booking in advance via the ticket link.

On both days, the doors will open around two hours before the first event (on 27 September at 5 pm and on 28 September at 3 pm). In Stall6, textiles of all kinds (e.g. clothing, bags, accessories) can be decorated with glittering and colourful Gessnerallee logos with a musical soundtrack. Bring something with you or find the right piece on-site. Petra Kenneth, a long-time Gessnerallee companion, will help you with printing and embroidery. You can also enjoy speciality drinks, taste the crisps of the season and play pinball.

On Saturday afternoon, at the special ‘Open Day for Young and Old’, you can get to know the team, the house and the artists (better) during guided tours and talks. There will be exciting and relaxed programme items for all ages.

For an overview, we provide weekly updates on programme items, newspaper articles, news and everything else we want to share with you:

Programme recommendation

‘Art in Conflict: Art as a motor for social change’ by artasfoundation

In this series of monthly talks, different actors come together to reflect on their experiences of creating art in crisis regions in the form of a round table discussion. More information

Newspaper

’And then I was looking at the colour blue because I had the blues.’

On the second weekend of the season opening (4/5 October), the piece ‘Navy Blue’ by internationally acclaimed choreographer Oona Doherty will be a guest at the Gessnerallee. To mark the occasion, Oona Doherty and dramaturge Isabel Gatzke met up before the summer for a chat. The interview will initially be published in English. Read 

Time to publish

From the 24/25 season, Gessnerallee will be publishing a newspaper. Find out why and what you can expect in the first editorial. Read

Furthermore

Last week, we launched our collaboration with Sensability as part of a transformation project on cultural participation, supported by City of Zurich Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Department of the Canton of Zurich. Over a period of one season, experts with disabilities will advise us on accessibility issues for the team, programme and audience. We are planning test tours of the theatre, rehearsal visits, feedback on accessibility measures and more. Our aim is for the Gessnerallee to become a venue that offers many people with disabilities, neurodivergence and chronic illnesses a workplace, visibility in the programme and access to this programme. We are very much looking forward to working together.

We wish you a good second half of the week.

The Gessnerallee team

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