Sleight of Hand – the fifth edition of our newspaper is here!

Dear visitors to Gessnerallee, dear artists

With our second season, we are also entering the second year of the Gessnerallee newspaper. An important focus for us remains the in-depth examination of aesthetics of access and the desire to make Gessnerallee as pleasant as possible for Deaf/disabled artists and guests. This is a lot of fun, but it is not always easy. In ‘Ein Gedanke zu Theater’ (A Thought on Theatre), visually impaired artist and disability rights activist Fia Neises writes: ‘When we are looking for a solution to something that is actually impossible ... then theatre can help here too.’ At the same time, according to Neises, theatre institutions still have a lot to learn.

Just how playful, humorous and pink this learning can be in an artistic context can be experienced in the installation performance work ‘Sleight of Hand’ by British artist Jo Bannon on 19 and 20 September – an enchanting interplay of audio description, tactile design and choreography.

One of the biggest challenges facing theatres in terms of accessibility lies in the architecture of the buildings themselves. Many venues are old, listed buildings or were built for a different purpose. What many of them have in common is that people with disabilities were not taken into account when they were designed. In her analytical article, journalist Marguerite Meyer uses the example of the Gessnerallee to trace the tension between accessibility, listed building status and administrative processes.

From building architecture to stage aesthetics: this autumn, Claire Cunningham, one of Britain's most important disabled artists, will be performing her production ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’ at the Gessnerallee theatre. Author and journalist Anna Miller has written a portrait of the Scottish artist, who uses crutches not only as an aid, but also as a central means of artistic expression in her productions.

Also visiting in autumn is Nadia Beugré, a choreographer and dancer living in France. Journalist Giulia Bernardi met her for an interview (only in German), and together they delve into the story behind the creation of the new piece ‘Epique! (for Yikakou)’, talking about origins, memory and the (re)construction of past events.

There are also gaps in the publishing world: more than a decade ago, Anne-Laure Franchette, Patrizia Mazzei and Gloria Wismer founded the volumes collective in Zurich. Together, they developed a platform and archive with a focus on making underrepresented practices by self-publishing artists and small publishers more visible. In a special section, we learn more about their origins, and 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 familiar authors and formats: photographer Hannah Gottschalk takes us on a photo essay tour of artist Ceylan Öztrük's studio. Artist and musician Rada Leu delights us once again with a comic about Moldova's cultural scene.

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 Lascandri will kick things off. After all, fashion and theatre share a long history.

Finally, dramaturge Isabel Gatzke gives us an in-depth insight into the programme focus ‘(Un)gentle Learning’, which marks the start of the 2025/26 season.

The current newspaper can now be ordered at zeitung@gessnerallee.ch. We recommend a subscription to anyone who, like us, loves good cultural stories. With a subscription, you will receive all four issues that we will be publishing this season, delivered to your door.

And speaking of the start of the season, here are the programme recommendations for the second weekend of the season:

Programme of the week

18 to 21 September, various opening hours

‘Stars Are Never Sleeping, Dead Ones and the Living’ by Theres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller

Relaxed Space

Flowing fabrics, round rooms, a multitude of light fixtures and the soft splashing of water. The installation ‘Stars Are Never Sleeping, Dead Ones and the Living’ is an interactive, sensory spatial experience and, at the same time, an inclusive place of tranquillity – striking a balance between stimulation and reduction, isolation and reception. The installation forms the spatial centrepiece of the season opener. More information

18 September, 8 pm

‘Neutrality Theatre – The Myth of Switzerland Put to the Test!’ by Hannan Salamat and Fatima Moumouni

Relaxed performance

An evening dedicated to Switzerland's most legendary myth – open, polyphonic, uncomfortable and by no means neutral. A piece of memory culture with clever minds from Switzerland, Germany and Austria. The event is sold out, but anyone who wants to celebrate with us is welcome to come to the Disco der guten Dienste afterwards.

18 September, 11 pm

‘Neutrality Theatre – Disco of Good Services’

After Neutrality Theatre comes the party: we turn good services upside down, and the dance floor becomes a place of unrest, radical diversity and ecstasy. Neutrality stays outside. Afrobeats and Britney Spears? They go together wonderfully, according to dibbasey! The Bern-based DJ loves everything Afro-influenced – she rummaged through her father's West African records at an early age and discovered her love for rhythm-based sounds. As a child of the 2000s, she also surprises again and again with nostalgia on the dance floor. One thing is certain: the booty will be shaking and the dance floor will be shaking. To the tickets

19 and 20 September, various times

‘Sleight of Hand’ by Jo Bannon

With integrated audio description

An intimate 60-minute performance for 5 people at a time. Fascinated by the carefully choreographed magic tricks that give the performance its name and the way blind and visually impaired people like herself move through the world, Jo Bannon has created a tactile installation for curious fingers and incredulous eyes.

To the tickets (in German)

To the tickets (in English)

20 and 21 September, 8 pm

‘When the Calabash Breaks’ by Tiran Willemse and Melika Ngombe Kolongo (Nkisi)

The breaking of a calabash signifies loss in the household or community, but depending on the context, it can also signify the loss of a life or a profound change in life. This rupture is the subject of ‘When the Calabash Breaks.’ Between intense and multi-layered sound and energetic movements, the project uses improvisation as a transformative and political practice. An open-air performance at Judith-Gessner-Platz with free admission. More information

21 September, 6 to 7.30 pm

‘KOMMANDO AJAX’, reading by Cemile Sahin

To conclude ‘(Un)gentle Learning’, Cemile Sahin once again picks up the pace with a reading from her novel ‘KOMMANDO AJAX’. The story brings together the lives of a Kurdish family in exile in the Netherlands with the jet set of the international art world. Cemile Sahin focuses on attention to detail, betrayal and friendship, and the question of how to write images as quickly as shots. To the tickets

Newspaper

‘What does memory sound like?’ (Only in German)

Journalist Giulia Bernardi met dancer Nadia Beugré for a chat. An interview about the choreographer and dancer's artistic work, her background and the (re)construction of past events. To the article

‘The painful tenderness of transition’ (Only in German)

Dramaturge Isabel Gatzke gives us an in-depth insight into the programme focus ‘(Un)gentle Learning’. Read the article

If you would like to read more of our cultural stories, which are written with love and care, then subscribe to the Gessnerallee newspaper now. We will be publishing a total of four issues in the coming season. The next issue will be published in September. Orders can be placed at zeitung@gessnerallee.ch.

We hope you enjoy reading this! And we look forward to your visit.

The Gessnerallee team