Stars are never sleeping, dead ones and the living

Season start 2025/26 – (Un)gentle Learning

«Stars Are Never Sleeping, Dead Ones and the Living»
Theres Indermaur und Stephanie Müller

The interactive, sensual spatial installation brings the stars into the north wing and forms the spatial centre of the season opening «(Un)gentle Learning».

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Thu 11/09 18:00 – 00:00
Nordflügel
Fri 12/09 18:00 – 22:30
Nordflügel
Free admission
Sat 13/09 17:00 – 22:30
Nordflügel
Free admission
Sun 14/09 19:00 – 22:30
Nordflügel
Free admission
Mon 15/09 19:00 – 22:30
Free admission
Thu 18/09 19:00 – 02:00
Nordflügel
Free admission
Fri 19/09 16:00 – 22:00
Nordflügel
Free admission
Sat 20/09 16:00 – 22:00
Nordflügel
Free admission
Sun 21/09 15:00 – 22:00
Nordflügel
Free admission

Flowing fabrics, round rooms, a multitude of light fittings and the soft splashing of water. Where am I? The installation »Stars are never sleeping, dead ones and the living» is an interactive, sensual spatial experience and at the same time an inclusive place of rest during the festival - a balance between stimulation and reduction, isolation and reception.

The work by Theres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller borrows its name from the lyrics of David Bowie's song «The Stars (are out tonight)» - it brings the moment of connection between the earth and the universe into the north wing and invites visitors to pay attention to their own senses. In «Stars are never sleeping, dead ones and the living», it is possible to encounter the inexpressible, the vague, the undefined, the oversized and undersized as well as the ghostly. It is an invitation to forget one's own body for a moment, to become permeable and part of a larger structure. An invitation to look the universe in the eye for a moment, in the knowledge that every blink triggers a shooting star somewhere.

Free entry

Guided tours

Tours of Nordflügel will take place at the following times, offering insights into the artistic work of Theres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller and allowing visitors to rediscover the room installation:

Thu 11.09.
18:30 - 19:00
with Theres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller

Fri 12.09.
18:00 - 18:30
with Noa Winter (Dramaturg Gessnerallee)

Sat 13.09.
18:30 - 19:00
with Isabel Gatzke (Dramaturg Gessnerallee)

Sun 21.09.
17:00 - 17:30
with Theres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller

Information on accessibility and language

Detailed information on accessibility will follow at the end of August.

The spatial installation «Stars are never sleeping, dead ones and the living» is open in two different modes during the two weekends of «(Un)gentle Learning»: vibrant and gentle. In vibrant mode, it is open for all visitors to discover. During the events in the «(Un)gentle Learning» programme, they are available in gentle mode as a quiet space.

Thu 11.09.
18:00–19:00: vibrant
19:00–00:00: gentle

Fri 12.09.
18:00–19:00: vibrant
19:00–22:30 gentle

Sat 13.09.
17:00–18:00 vibrant
18:00–22:30 gentle

Sun 14.09., Mon 15.09., Thu 18.09., Fri 19.09. and Sat 20.09.
Gentle throughout

Sun 21.09.
16:00–18:00: vibrant
18:00–21:00: gentle

Plain language

A room with fabrics and light is located in the north wing of Gessnerallee.
It is a quiet place in the middle of the festival.
Visitors can relax there.
They can hear, see and smell things there.
They can also just lie on the floor
and think about the sky and the stars.

About the artists

Theres Indermaur (born 1984 in Zurich) works as a freelance scenographer, stage and costume designer for productions in the fields of dance, theatre and opera. After completing a bachelor's degree in scenographic design and a master's degree in stage design at the Zurich University of the Arts, she worked as an assistant at the Zurich Opera House and the Biel Solothurn Theatre Orchestra, as well as a five-year teaching assistantship in the master's degree in theatre at the ZHdK. Her signature works include productions with Barbara Weber at the Konzerttheater Bern, at the Opernhaus Zürich with Bea Nichele, several productions with Diana Rojas at the Fabriktheater Zürich, with Daniel Hellmann, Emilia Giudicelli, LAB Junges Theater Zurich and Juliette Uzor at Gessnerallee Zurich, with Criptonite and Daniel Hellmann at Tanzhaus Zurich, several productions with Thomas Guglielmetti at Theater Winterthur, with Daniel Koller at Theater Biel Solothurn and many different productions at independent theatres in Switzerland. Her installation works place a strong focus on interactivity and involve the visitor as an active participant.

Stephanie Müller (1991*) lives and works in Zurich. She graduated from the Zurich University of the Arts in 2024. Since 2018, she has been working as a freelance scenographer and as a teacher of visual design at various institutions.
In many of her works, Stephanie Müller explores spatial phenomena that she encounters in her everyday life and places them in narrative contexts in various media. Her work is characterised by a transdisciplinary interest and a creative exploration of materials and their qualities.
As a scenographer, she works in various theatre, performance and installation collectives at Schauspielhaus Zürich, Theater Gessnerallee, Tojo Theater Bern, Roxy Birsfelden, Bühne Aarau and Theater Stadelhofen. She is a member of the pulp.ooo collective, with whom she realised the projects ‘History of extinction - artists impression’ and developed the play ‘wir sind dann mal weg’ at Theater Stadelhofen for a young audience.
In 2025, she created the stage and costumes for the play ‘Monopoly’ by the Bühne Aarau ensemble.

Credits

Scenography and artistic direction:
heres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller
Light design:
Miro Renggli

Supported by

The programme focus ‘(Un)gentle Learning’ is supported by the Ernst Göhner Foundation.

Gessnerallee season start 2025/26

The programme focus «(Un)gentle Learning» will take place at Gessnerallee from 11 to 21 September to mark the start of the season. It will explore processes of transition, mourning and learning.

«Stars Are Never Sleeping, Dead Ones and the Living»
Theres Indermaur and Stephanie Müller
11/09 - 15/09
18/09 - 21/09
Room installation

«Fourth Eye, 4.40 AM»
Ceylan Öztrük
11/09, 13/09, 14/09, 15/09
Performance

«Pas Moi»
Diana Anselmo
(in LIS, Italian sign language)
12/09, 13/09,
Lecture-Performance

«Muskeln aus Plastik - a crip-queer reading»
Kay Matter
14/09
Reading

«Neutralitätstheater – The myth of Switzerland on the table!»
Hannan Salamat and Fatima Moumouni
18/09
Talk, Performance

«Sleight of Hand»
Jo Bannon
(in German spoken language)
19/09
Installation, Performance

«Sleight of Hand»
Jo Bannon
(in English spoken language)
20/09
Installation, Performance

«When the Calabash Breaks»
Tiran Willemse and Melika Ngombe Kolongo (Nkisi)
20/09, 21/09
Open-Air-Performance, Music, Dance

«KOMMANDO AJAX»
Cemile Sahin
21/09
Reading

More Shows

Fri 13/03 18:00

«SCHÄLLEWIIBER»Pop-Up Mountain CompanyFollowed by: «spooning&entre.les.montagnes»

Free admission

Fri 13/03 18:00

«spooning&entre.les.montagnes»Sami Lea Samira BernathPreviously: «SCHÄLLEWIIBER»

Free admission

Fri 13/03 20:00

Steps: Migros Culture Percentage Dance Festival«IN THE BRAIN»Shechter II (GBR), Hofesh ShechterMoving introduction to ‘IN THE BRAIN’ at 7:15 p.m.

Few remaining tickets at the box office

Sat 14/03 17:00

Steps: Migros Culture Percentage Dance Festival«valse, valse, valse – Shortversion & workshop»Johanna Heusser

Free admission

Sat 14/03 20:00

Steps: Migros Culture Percentage Dance Festival«IN THE BRAIN»Shechter II (GBR), Hofesh Shechter

Few remaining tickets at the box office

To the programme overview