In ‘Late to the Party’, Trajal Harrell approaches the music of Nina Simone from a belated yet urgent perspective. The work begins from a personal encounter whose resonance unfolds only decades later: the discovery of Simone as voice, as body, as attitude. Moving between voice and music, classical form and radical expression, the choreographic project asks what happens when these elements are separated and brought together anew. A piece about listening, missing, and the late, irrevocable falling under a spell. It is also an exploration of memory and transmission, tracing how artistic influence can arrive unexpectedly and continue to transform perception across time.

Trajal Harrell, who was a welcome guest at the theatre with his earlier works and subsequently spent six years as artist-in-residence at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, founded the Zürich Dance Ensemble and is now staging the premiere of a new work at the Gessnerallee for the first time.

Accessibility and practical information

• Aged 12 +

• As the production is still being rehearsed, more information on the accessibility of the show will be released closer to the premiere date.

• For sold-out performances, we reserve a small number of accessible seats (wheelchair spaces and beanbags). We ask that anyone requiring accessibility support contact kasse@gessnerallee.ch.