«Mutterzungen»
Rebekka Bangerter

in collaboration with Asa Hendry, Solange P. Molu, Felicia Touvenot

What is lost when a language disappears? An intimate, poetic encounter between three speakers of endangered languages in the dark.

  • Thu 11/06 20:00 – 21:30

    Premiere followed by a snack and drink reception

    Halle

  • Sat 13/06 20:00 – 21:30

    Halle

  • Mon 15/06 20:00 – 21:30

    Halle

  • Tue 16/06 20:00 – 21:30

    Halle

Sorbian woman putting on traditional costume. Copyright: Felicia Touvenot

What makes language alive—and where does understanding begin? 

A linguist who speaks Bamoun, an author who speaks Romansh, and a language activist who speaks Sorbian encounter each other in a room filled with cushions, voices, and memories. Fluidly switching between different languages, translations, and the untranslatable, they reflect together on loss and legacy, on language as a form of resistance and a space of possibility. 

The audience lies in the middle of this conversation, similar to a sleepover, where language appears not as a pure means of communication, but as sound, relationship, and lived practice. Mindful listening beyond linguistic understanding becomes a shared experience.

A theater evening that emerges in the spaces between translations. In various spoken languages. Without surtitles.

Disappearance of languages

Around 7,000 languages are spoken worldwide. Of these, only about 65 are considered secure – and almost half of the languages spoken today are at risk of disappearing within the next few generations. This is a loss of unprecedented proportions: never before in human history has linguistic diversity declined so rapidly. But what is lost when a language disappears? Not only words, but knowledge, memories, worldviews, relationships, and ways of describing and understanding the world. 

An insight into the topic: https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/

Information on accessibility and language 

  • Stepless access

  • Age: Recommended from 12+ years

  • Sprache: Multilingual performance in various spoken languages – Bamoun, Romansh, Sorbian, English, German, Swiss German, French, and Spanish. Not everything is translated. Listening beyond linguistic understanding is part of the experience.

  • Audio Description: Further information will follow.

  • Touch Tour: Further information will follow.

  • Audience: There is a seating and lounging area. Beanbags and chairs can be reserved to accommodate accessibility requirements.

  • Sensory triggers: Long parts of the performance will take place in the dark.

  • Further information on accessibility will be added continuously until the premiere.

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