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«Desperate Measures»
Phil Hayes / First Cut Productions

PerformanceMusic

Between laughter, tears and world-weariness. With songs, music, stories and perhaps a little dancing, a desperate performer tries everything he can to connect with his audience. Will he succeed?

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  • Wed 10/1220:00

    Premiere followed by a snack and drink reception

    Halle

    • Surtitles in DE

    Remaining tickets at the box office

  • Fri 12/1220:00

    Halle

    • Surtitles in DE

  • Sat 13/1220:00

    Halle

    • Surtitles in DE
    • Audio description

  • Sun 14/1218:00

    Halle

    • Surtitles in DE
    • Audio description
Phil Hayes' works are known for their melancholic humour, precise use of language and subtle irony in dealing with a wide range of different subjects. Copyright: Phil Hayes

Its been quite a day…

Its been quite a week..

Lets’ just face it, Its been quite a year..

So how are you all doing?

How are you coping? 

Whats your strategy?

Zurich-based actor, musician, and director Phil Hayes is known for his melancholic humor, his precise use of language, and his subtle irony when dealing with a wide variety of topics. Live music has played an important role in many of his works. For ‘Desperate Measures’ he is collaborating with musicians Martina Berther, Mario Hänni and Dominic Oppliger to conjure up an evening full of dark humor and heartfelt songs. 

On stage: a hopeful artist stands before the curtain. With him: three musicians. The artist wants our respect. He wants our trust. He wants above all to make a connection – and he will do what he can to get it. He has even hired a band for the occasion. But the question remains: is this a comeback or his last chance?

Information on accessibility and language

  • Stepless access

  • Language: The performance is in spoken English with German surtitles.

  • Audio description: For the performances on 13 and 14 December, there will be live audio description in English for blind and visually impaired audience members, with a tactile tour 30 minutes before the start of each performance.

  • Pick-up service: If you would like to be picked up at Zurich Main Station for the performance, please contact us by December 11 at barrierefreiheit@gessnerallee.ch.

  • Sensory stimuli: The work is very auditory. There is live music and singing on stage. In some scenes, the audience will be lit. The light might dazzle audience members.

  • Interaction: The audience is directly addressed, and individual people are invited to verbal interactions. Participation is voluntary.

  • Further information on accessibility may change up until the day of the premiere, as the performance is currently being developed.

  • Detailed information on the accessibility of the performance is available on site at the Access Info Point in Stall6.

Audio flyer ‘Desperate Measures’ narrated in English by Roy Fischer.

  • Phil Hayes is an actor, musician and director from Zurich.

    He is known for his humour.

    He makes jokes with irony.

    He makes jokes about getting older.

    Live music is important in his work.

    He works with three musicians for the play ‘Desperate Measures’:

    • Martina Berther

    • Mario Hänni

    • Dominic Oppliger

    There is an artist on stage.

    The artist wants us to trust him.

    He does everything he can to achieve this.

    He has even learned tap dancing.

    This is a dance with shoes that make noise.

    Is this his new beginning or his last chance?

  • Concept, Text, Songs, Video, Performance:Phil Hayes
    Music, Performance:Martina Berther, Mario Hänni, Dominic Oppliger
    Artistic Advisor:Kim Noble
    Dramaturg:Julia Hintermüller
    Initial Artistic Input:Shawn Sides
    Specialist Training:Nikolaj Bauer, Luca Gygli
    Stage:Sina Knecht
    Lighting:Patrik Rimann
    Sound:Susanne Affolter
    Audiodescription:Karin Huber (artistic collaboration) and Roy Fischer (artistic collaboration and performance)
    Production:Lukas Piccolin
    Diffusion:Lise Leclerc
    A Production by:First Cut Pro­duc­tions
    A Co-Production by:Gess­ner­allee, sup­ported by a res­i­dency at Mon­te­v­ideo, Mar­seille and with thanks to Rude Mechs of Austin Texas and Backstage Studio Zurich

  • Phil Hayes is a per­for­mance-maker, the­atre di­rec­tor, ac­tor and mu­si­cian. He has also worked in kitchens, restau­rants, pubs, fac­to­ries, on the ra­dio, on tv and on build­ing sites. He was born on the south coast of Eng­land and stud­ied Cre­ative Arts in New­cas­tle upon Tyne many years ago. Based in Zurich since 1998, Phil has spent most of this time cre­at­ing per­for­mance and the­atre work, mainly through the non-profit association (Verein) First Cut Pro­duc­tions, in­clud­ing; ‘Awkward Human’, ‘Legends & Rumours’, ‘Love & Happiness’, ‘Places Of Interest’, ‘These Are My Principles...’, ‘WORK’ and ‘Under The Influence I - III’. 

    In Hayes performance works the col­lab­o­ra­tive process has gen­er­ally been the ba­sis for gen­er­at­ing con­tent and form to­gether with a rolling se­ries of new and reg­u­lar col­lab­o­ra­tive part­ners. His work has reg­u­larly toured in­ter­na­tion­ally. Hayes also makes per­for­mance-based work in other con­texts, work­ing as a free­lance per­former, di­rec­tor, ad­vi­sor, dra­maturg, writer or mu­si­cian in col­lab­o­ra­tions with a wide variety of artists and groups. He was a reg­u­lar col­lab­o­ra­tor with British per­for­mance group Forced En­ter­tain­ment (2009 - 2016) and worked on sev­eral pro­jects with per­for­mance-maker and chore­o­g­ra­pher Si­mone Augh­ter­lony. Hayes has also appeared in several films, including Angela Schanelec's ‘Der traumhafte Weg’ (2016) and Piet Baumgartner's ‘Bagger Drama’ (2024). ‘Desperate Measures’ marks 23 years of Hayes working, performing and creating at the Gessnerallee.

    First Cut Pro­duc­tions' work is currently rep­re­sented for tour­ing by Lise Leclerc.

    www.philhayes.ch

    www.thefirstcut.ch

  • City of Zurich Culture Department, Canton of Zurich and Ernst Göhner Foundation

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To the programme overview