The programme in May

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

This weekend the swimming season opened, and even if jumping into a cold pool is not our greatest wish at the moment, we can already guess what will happen in a few weeks' time: It's getting warmer. And there are two options for this time of year: enjoy refreshing drinks in a beer garden or let yourself be inspired by energising, critical or calming performances at Gessnerallee. The great thing is that you can combine the two.

We recommend: watch a great performance in the hall first and then drink a grape spritzer in the city's most beautiful beer garden in the Riithalle. If you like good food, go to the beer garden first and take advantage of the 20% discount on food in combination with the theatre ticket. An early summer evening couldn't be more beautiful.

With this in mind, here is our programme overview for the beautiful month of May.

Programme in May

8 May, 6 pm

‘Lick Life Against the Direction of Its Fur’ by Tyra Wigg

An invitation to a speculative dialogue: between the ‘online attention economy’, the time directly before it and the biology of our digestive system. Together with the three performers, we embark on a search for collective progress and are confronted with various temporalities, movements and sentences from social media feeds. More information

8, 10, 12, 13 May, 8 pm

‘In Case of Emergency - Anatomoy of a catastrophe’ by Extraleben

When the Sihldamm dam in Einsiedeln bursts, Gessnerallee has to be evacuated. The work simulates an emergency and scrutinises the premises of disaster prevention in a critical and playful way. More information

14 May, 5.30 pm

‘Art in Conflict: Social Art Initiatives Out in the Streets’ by artasfoundation

In this series of talks, different actors come together once a month to reflect on their experiences in the form of a table discussion. This time with Vera Ryser (founding member of the collective Das Wandbild muss weg! (The Mural Must Go!)) and Asida Butba (SKLAD; project space in the globally isolated region of Abkhazia). More information

16 May, 6 pm / 17 May, 4 pm / 18 May, 2 pm

‘Water the Earth, Polish the Steel, Tighten the Threads’ by Simone Aughterlony, Sarah Burger, Johanna Kotlaris, Dafi Kühne

Dancer and choreographer Simone Aughterlony and visual artists Sarah Burger, Johanna Kotlaris and Dafi Kühne present the results of their research on the subject of hands. Over the course of three days, the Südbühne will be transformed into a walk-on, performative installation that visitors can enter and leave anytime during the event. More information

16 and 17 May, 10 pm

‘MIRLITONS’ by Aymeric Hainaux & François Chaignaud

‘MIRLITONS’ is a concert, a battle, a ritual. A small platform, shoes, microphones and unconventional noises are part of the duet by dancer-choreographer François Chaignaud and musician Aymeric Hainaux. An exuberant, rhythmically nerdy battle as part of ZÜRICH TANZT. More information

17 May, 8 pm and 18 May, 6 pm

‘Gentle Unicorn’ by Chiara Bersani

People attribute magical powers and mythical meanings to the unicorn. But what does the unicorn itself have to say? As part of ZÜRICH TANZT the Italian choreographer and performer Chiara Bersani, gives the unicorn a voice and a story so it can assert its own place in society. A subtle choreography about social attributions and voyeuristic gazes. And how to reciprocate or elegantly undermine them. More information

22, 23, 25 May, 8 pm

‘Eat Me Now!’ by Arlette Dellers

What do you find sexy? Which bodies, which actions or which images do you find attractive - and why? What view do you take? Five queer dancers with different movement backgrounds from contemporary dance, breaking, dancehall, afro, hip-hop and swimming unravel western patriarchal ideas of sexuality and hotness with a fresh perspective. More information

25. Mai, 18 Uhr

«WITH OR WITHOUT YOU – eine Queer-Crip-Tanzperformance» von Fia Neises

Die behinderten Tänzer*innen Fia Neises und Irene Giró laden in Räume der «Access-Intimität» ein. In der Luft hängend geben sie sich der Illusion der Unabhängigkeit hin und bringen Seh-, Hör- und Zeitgewohnheiten durcheinander. Begleitet von der Musikerin Jana Sotzko teilen sie Geschichten von Ambivalenz und Intimität. Mehr Informationen

Furthermore

If you are in Zurich over Easter, we highly recommend a visit to the concert by Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson and Studio Dan from Vienna:

19 April, 8 pm

‘Residue of the Heart’ by Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson and Studio Dan

In a combination of ritual and mythical elements as well as practices of avant-garde art from the 70s and 80s, the ensemble Studio Dan performs its compositions and those of Meredith Monk with Jalalu-Kalvert Nelson. An invitation to the ‘remnants of the heart’. More information

We look forward to a refreshing drink and your visit!

The Gessnerallee team

PS: Do you enjoy good cultural stories? Or do you know someone who doesn't like going to the theatre so much, but loves reading? Then we recommend a subscription to our printed newspaper, which is published four times a season. It costs CHF 20 (excl. postage) and you can order it directly at zeitung@gessnerallee.ch.