Three questions for Dimitri de Perrot

Dear visitors to the Gessnerallee, dear culture enthusiasts, dear artists

As we are showing ‘UNTER UNS - Eine Reise in die Tiefen des Bodens’ for the first time at Gessnerallee tomorrow, we wanted to find out more from director Dimitri de Perrot about his deep listening theater.

Gessnerallee: In ‘UNTER UNS’, over 70 minutes of deep listening the audience explores the hidden worlds of the ground as a living treasure in an experimental theatrical experience. How did the idea for this come about? What inspired you to do it?

Dimitri de Perrot: It all started with the question of encounter: how free am I when I encounter something new - a different view, an as yet unknown idea? The uncertain and unpredictable can quickly seem threatening, but I see something profoundly alive and creative in it that I want to give space to. It is the nature of life to be in a constant state of flux, to constantly weave itself anew. This gave rise to the image of listening to the soil - as the foundation of life. Soil is a huge network that absorbs, negotiates, interweaves and develops in a great collaboration across differences and temporalities.

You understand hearing and the perception of sound as a skill that must be practiced and cultivated again and again for it to unfold. Your spatial and sound installations create spaces for reflection that allow you to think about the boundaries between the individual and the community and the connection to a shared reality. What are your thoughts on this?

I often imagine life as a big improvisation - a dance of the moment, of everyone who is there, with everything that is there. Listening is an essential basis for this. Listening or deep listening requires the audience to allow the ambiguous, with no quick images or answers. Socially, we tend to cling to supposed certainties. Listening and hearing enable us to recognize ourselves as participants in a larger system.

‘UNTER UNS’ is also accessible for children (recommended from the age of 10). You recently said that children are often an appreciative audience. Why is that?

With my pieces, I want to create a theatrical space in which we can experience something special and become curious. I deliberately tell stories without a classical narrative, instead letting sound, space and presence do the talking. Allowing yourself to listen also means letting go of control and giving space to your own associations. Children often do this very well: they playfully connect with the moment. In performances, I notice how their curiosity and impartiality often create an atmosphere that also makes it easier for adults to surrender to listening and the here and now.

In addition to Dimitri de Perrot's Deep Listening Theater, New York artist Dawuna will also be our guest tomorrow at Stall6. More in our overview of the week's program items, newspaper articles, news and everything we want to share with you:

Programme recommendations of the week

November 7, 9.30 pm  

Dawuna

His debut, the album ‘Glass Lit Dream’, was described by ‘The Guardian’ as ‘one of the masterpieces of 2021’. Now the New York-based artist Dawuna is coming to the Gessnerallee. We are looking forward to tender R&B, interwoven, intoxicating and unique productions. More information

November 7 to 10

‘UNTER UNS - Eine Reise in die Tiefen des Bodens’

The scenography of Dimitri de Perrot's ‘UNTER UNS - Eine Reise in die Tiefen des Bodens’ consists of an inflatable shell that takes up the entire performance space and makes the outside world disappear. Inside the shell, visitors encounter an expansive, sounding and shaking floor. As a giant musical instrument, it invites you to lie down and listen for 70 minutes. More information

Newspaper

‘Das Theater war das Leben, das Leben war Theater’

Why did they stay at Gessnerallee for so long? ‘Because of the theater’, said technicians André Donzé and Küde Brun in our portrait. Theater is always in motion and it is political, a place for important social debates. But theater also has a way of always looking forward - and rarely looking back. But every future also has its past. ‘It's strange that hardly anyone still knows about the past.’ To the article

Furthermore

Last Thursday, the Board of Directors and the theater management invited everyone to the ‘Resonanzraum’ to discuss their expectations and wishes for the new theater management and Gessnerallee. Artists who are new to the city due to the political situation in their home countries and would like to get to know the theater better, as well as members of the association who have been committed to the theater for years and the former cultural director, who contributed significantly to making Gessnerallee the wonderful cultural institution that it is today, all attended. It was an inspiring and stimulating round table with different generations, perspectives and backgrounds - all united by the fact that they appreciate and love Gessnerallee and hope that it can continue to successfully fulfill its mission as a venue for contemporary arts in the heart of Zurich for many years to come.

Are you also enthusiastic about the Gessnerallee and would like to support the development and continued existence of this beautiful and lively cultural institution? Become a member of the association and write to us at: info@gessnerallee.ch.

We look forward to seeing you again soon.

The Gessnerallee team

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