Andreas KlaeuiTHEATRE IN SWITZERLAND: NOT JUST ONE MAJOR THEATRE SCENE, BUT RATHER MANY SMALL ONES To describe the “Swiss theatre scene” is not as straightforward as one might think. Switzerland does not have just one major theatre scene, but rather many small ones. This is typical of Swiss federalism; in particular, it is due to the political apportioning of the four national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh. Each language region has its own major and minor theatres which remain more-or-less insular within their own districts despite some attempts to bridge the socalled “Rösti” [Swiss German fried shredded potato dish] or “polenta” [Swiss Italian corn meal mush] trenches, i.e., language and cultural barriers described in terms of culture-specific culinary dishes. Instead of looking to Zurich the Swiss Romandie or French-speaking region directs its view rather farther away to Paris, e.g., the ambitious Théâtre Vidy-Lausanne in the Swiss Romandie is an integrated part of the professional theatre system of France and as a matter of course co-produces works with major municipal theatres such as the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris. By the same token Swiss German playhouses orient themselves towards the professional theatre system of the greater German-speaking area – here attention is focused towards Berlin or Vienna; as well as ambition, when highaimed it is pinned on the German-language “Theatre of the Year” (determined in the poll of critics by the professional journal Theatre heute). In terms of their structure theatres also function differently depending on their language region: in Romandie as in France according to the stagione or “en suite” principle with time-limited co-productions and ensembles; in contrast, the Swiss German system operates with an ensemble and repertoire played to a certain extent over many years. There is no Swiss national theatre, i.e., no “Schweizer Schauspielhaus” or “Schweizer Theater” comparable to such institutions in Hamburg, Berlin or the national theatre system in France. And if a Minister of Culture – more characteristically, French-speaking – nevertheless demonstrates a longing for centralization and, e.g., tries to declare the Schauspielhaus Zürich with its internationally-renowned Schiffbau annex as the national “flagship” of Swiss theatre, the actual designation is still far from becoming an established fact. The situation in the Swiss Italian-speaking Ticino area is even more complex: caught in between a love-hate relationship with the big Italian brother to the south and the Swiss German “cultural imperialists” to the north. The latter seem to inundate the more southern Swiss canton with their often escapist or esoteric culture. The Ticino residents call it “Züchin'" or “zucchiniing’ like the over-rampantly growing vines of the zucchini squash. The historical culture of the Ticino is plainly rural [i.e., not high-brow]; as well, [politically] Ticino was either a Milanese province – as the city of Locarno, which was actually designed as a fortress by Leonardo da Vinci – or governed by the Swiss German bailiffs. More recently, Monte Verità in Ascona – a place now considered as emblematic of the artistic avantgarde – was not created by Ticino residents themselves, but was rather founded by German and Swiss German expressionist dance exotics. A vestige of the movement, the marvellous Bauhaus Teatro San Materno still exists today. Although the Ascona citizens seem to not quite know what to make of the building, nevertheless they have recently restored it in an exemplary fashion. Trans-Language Endeavours Nonetheless dance theatre in particular and other theatre forms based in just a few words (or a priori multilingual) can be congratulated for their attempts to overcome the socalled language trenches. In this respect the advanced dance theatre of the Romandie has been a new impulse for entire Switzerland and beyond, as well as a group such as Rimini Protokoll, which was established around the personage of Stefan Kaegi of Switzerland. Matthias Hartmann brought the group from Bochum to Schauspielhaus Zürich and the troop recently travelled from Vidy on an absolutely triumphant tour throughout the whole of the French theatre area. Aimed to a large extent at a school public the “TransHelvetia” project is touring across language borders especially in schools and is courageously bringing its young public not only closer to foreign language texts, but also to foreign theatre aesthetics. These translanguage endeavours are all the more remarkable because compared to its German counterpart the Romandie theatre, like contemporary theatre in France, is generally much more a theatre of the word, of language – and occasionally of the most traditional style of declamation – while Swiss German theatre artists, like contemporary theatre in the international German language theatre, are more concerned with developments in theatre aesthetics, i.e., staging issues such as set design, acting style, etc. In other words: the Swiss theatre scene? A creative chaos. In any case, a highly productive one especially when considered in relation to the actual size of the country and its total population. Another important element of Swiss theatre to be considered along with its professional sector is the country’s strong amateur scene, which often attains more than just a respectable level of production quality. Here such an innovative and revitalizing figure like Louis Naef of central Switzerland comes to mind with his “landscape theatre”; as well, one thinks of the Baroque openair Einsiedler Welttheater, for which Thomas Hürlimann just wrote a new text; or the Romansh language Cumpagnia da teater Laax, which stems from the spirit of the Jesuit theatre and every ten years produces an openair play involving more-or-less the entire village. In 2009 the production was created under the direction of actor Bruno Cathomas from Laax, an internationally renowned and engaged Swiss actor who had his first professional performances on the Cumpagnia da teater Laax stage. Melding of Amateur and Professional Theatre Bringing together amateur and professional theatre in its first own production, the new Theater Chur – with its new collective the Churer Ensemble – explored the subject matter of a controversial Bündner freedom fighter of the Thirty Years’ War – Jürg Jenatsch – as portrayed in a three-part novella of the same name by the Swiss poet Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Directed by Samuel Schwarz of the (important) independent theatre troop 400asa the new production raises contemporary issues in dealing with the traditional material of Meyer’s novella. In additional to professional actors a large group of amateurs performs in the piece. This production reflects a development that can be observed in other places, e.g., in dramatic speech or movement choirs or “experts” of the real world. While the independent scene and municipal theatre have been open to each other for some time, now the same can be said about the permeability between amateur and professional productions which under favourable circumstances are increasingly working together. Is this a new kind of naturalism? As mentioned above, “Jenatsch” was the first production of the new collective Churer Ensemble. The ensemble was launched in early summer 2009 by Markus Luchsinger who died unexpectedly on July 30th, 2009. Previously director of the Zürcher Theaterspektakel and Berliner Festspiele and exceptionally well connected in the international independent theatre scene, this driving theatre innovator wanted to revitalize the Bündner theatre scene with inhouse productions along with high profile guest features, e.g., by directors such as Christoph Marthaler, Luc Bondy or Pippo Delbono. How things will develop now remains to be seen, i.e., whether a season distinctive to Chur can become established or the theatre will once more sink into a Sleeping Beauty kind of sleep strongly depends upon the newly-chosen director Ute Haferburg, whose previous experience is based primarily in musical theatre. Engaged Small Theatre in Geneva Despite the cultivation of federalism in Switzerland theatre at the periphery does not have it easy in competition with centres such as Geneva and Lausanne or Zurich and Basel. However, when municipal theatre fails to generate an impulse, as is currently the case with La Comédie de Genève, then attention shifts of its own accord to the smaller theatres. In Geneva, e.g., these include Théâtre Le Poche with its socially engaged, advanced programming or Théâtre du Grütli, which initially established itself as an experimental and avant-garde venue, as did Forum Meyrin and Arsenic in Lausanne. Another example of noteworthy small theatre is one in the sophisticated, small Geneva suburb of Carouge that has been newly launched under the young director Jean Liermier. The program has been attracting attention through its revitalization of the classics by authors such as Voltaire, Musset, Molière or Marivaux in imaginative, playful interpretations. Currently the classics have become a specialized niche in the landscape of Geneva theatre; however the large La Comédie de Genève as well as the smaller Théâtre Le Poche and Forum Meyrin are explicitly focusing on contemporary authors. Théâtre de Vidy is running “hors concours” in its Max Bill building idyllically situated on the shore of Lake Geneva. As was mentioned earlier, this theatre operates seamlessly in tandem with the national theatre of France. Extending throughout Europe with its tours and co-productions travelling works have included pieces by Heiner Goebbels, Stefan Kaegi and Metzger/Zimmermann/de Perrot. Hopeful New Beginning in Zurich In the German-speaking region of Switzerland first place in aesthetic quality is an ongoing back-and-forth between Schauspielhaus Zürich and Theater Basel. Sometimes the prize goes to Basel (Frank Baumbauer) and then in turn to Zurich (Christoph Marthaler); after Matthias Hartmann’s triumphant departure to Burgtheater in Vienna – claiming, “You wanted the best and that’s what you’re getting!” – once again it’s Zurich’s turn with a hopeful new beginning under the direction of Swiss repatriate Barbara Frey. At the same time in the Dreispartentheater [Trans. Note: a German term used for a theatre organisation housing opera, ballet and dramatic productions under one management structure] of Theater Basel – directed by Georges Delnon – the dramatic theatre is not able to keep up with the extremely successful opera division, which was selected as international “Opera of the Year” for 2008/09 in a poll of critics by the professional journal Opernwelt. Barbara Frey’s Zurich premiere – Schiller’s “Maria Stuart” with a captivating emphasis upon Elizabeth's journey from “Virgin Queen” to desperate, torn woman – was symbolically staged in the Schiffbau annex, a former industrial building in Zurich West that was discovered and initially used by Christoph Marthaler for Schauspielhaus Zürich and since his departure has contributed little to the international reputation of the Schauspielhaus. An exception is Jürgen Gosch’s “Hier und Jetzt” with text by Roland Schimmelpfennig that was especially developed for this venue and subsequently invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen 2009. Nonetheless the future of the Schiffbau as part of the Schauspielhaus remains uncertain. The artistic direction of the Schauspielhaus is far removed from having sovereignty over the annex, which in the future should be more intensely “used commercially”. That would be a genuine case of Swiss Seldwylerei: a beautiful kind of theatre is founded, an expensive renovation is completed and then the plug is simply pulled. [Trans. Note: The People of Seldwyla is the title of a two-volume collection of novellas (published in 1856 and 1873–74) by the Swiss social realist Gottfried Keller who was often bitterly ironical. Seldwyla, a name deriving from the Middle High German word “saelde” meaning “blissful” or “sunny”, stands for a fictitious, quintessentially Swiss village. As well, another German word for Seldwylerei is "Schildbürgerstreich" which means "foolish act". In his connotation Keller makes use of both meanings.] In addition to the Schauspielhaus Zürich the newly relaunched Theater Neumarkt is another important local and national venue. Co-directors Barbara Weber and Rafael Sanchez can be considered as representative of an entire generation of the independent scene and have established themselves now at a fixed address at Theater Neumarkt after years of touring nationally and abroad. On the other hand, Theaterhaus Gessnerallee, the token playhouse for the national and international independent scene, has once again attained a profile under Niels Ewerbeck and to his credit has become an internationally recognized coproduction partner. As well, in the context of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) there are some noticeable new faces, e.g., the troop “Far A Day Cage” under the direction of Tomas Schweigen or young director and musician Thomas Luz. New Stage Languages: A Way for Smaller Theatres In order to turn the tide away from the metropolises one strategy of smaller municipal theatres can be to commit to new forms and stage languages. For instance the joint municipal theatre of the cities of Biel and Solothurn evidences such an attempt in its engagement of young directors and dramatists (who have been very efficiently promoted in Switzerland through training models such as the “drama processor”). An example of such a production is “Feindmaterie” (2008) by the drama processor graduate Simon Froehling which premiered in Solothurn and was staged by the equally exceptionally promising young director Jan Philipp Gloger: a stroke of luck, an intelligent text in an intelligent interpretation. However, certainly also a risk. The opposite approach, i.e., taking no risks, seems to be the strategy that Theater St. Gallen is pursuing: situated between the powerful theatre (and opera) magnets of Munich and Zurich it tries to hold on to its public by offering a theatre fare that is easy to digest. In fact smaller municipal theatres, in particular the Dreispartentheater institutions, are more-and-more under financial pressure – and an increasingly more superficially formulated demand for direct profitability! In this case dance theatre is usually where the first cuts are made. This is no different in Basel than in Bern. In Lucerne the city council wants to go even further and reshape Lucerne’s excellent reputation as city of music into one of monoculture, i.e., to “outsource” dance and dramatic performance to the independent scene. Clearly independent troops cannot afford the basic infrastructure and means necessary for such theatrical productions. This kind of thinking reveals just how much Lucerne has already been assimilated into the agglomeration of Zurich: whoever wants to see theatre has simply to drive to Zurich. However, here the question can also be raised as to what extent Dreispartentheater – as the classic “temple of culture” in terms of both structure and content – can still be even considered as a future model? In Bern independent theatre artists have already started thinking on their own accord about new institutional theatre forms – to date, however, without coming to any conclusions. We’re not that far along yet. Andreas Klaeui, until 2008 editor of the cultural magazine du, independent critic (Swiss Radio DRS, Neue Zürcher Zeitung as well as professional publications, e.g., nachtkritik, Theater heute). Lives in Zurich and Paris. Translation: Linda Cassens Stoian |
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