Young program
& audience
© Zoé Aubry
The Young Programme is much more than a programme. It’s actually a movement, a movement within the house. On the initiative of in-house director Suna Gürler, everything at the Schauspielhaus Zürich done by, with and for young people is not treated as a separate department but rather grows freely between and into the existing framework.
Adolescents and young adults form a central part of the theatre. Every year, artists and educators lead four youth clubs
in which participants meet weekly to learn about theatre. Each club develops a play over the course of a season and premieres it in May or June in the Matchbox or Kammer. Afterwards, many of the members continue their involvement at the theatre: for example, acting in productions by Suna Gürler – such as Yèinou Avognon, Moubarak Djibril, Fayrouz Gabriel and Samira Graf in Bullestress – or Mira Guggenbühl and Linus Cart in Ich chan es Zündhölzli azünde. Alternatively, they may apply for the Theaterjahr...
That’s right, Theaterjahr! The “Theatre Year” is a group (actually, almost a gang) of five young people who spend a year together at the Schauspielhaus. They join the artistic mediation team, work in various other departments, observe the productions in progress, question the infrastructure, organise the monthly Offene Bühne (and sometimes a theatre flea market) and work on their own final project at the end of the season. It’s impossible to imagine what the theatre would be like with- out their energy.
Whether as a youth-club actor, a Theaterjahr resident, a member of the audience, a participant in “Welcome to School” in which young people with refugee experiences do theatre once a week, or an attendee of one of the roughly 80 workshops offered by the art education team Theatre & School in Zurich schools, adolescents and young adults find a place at the Schauspielhaus. Through these various avenues, they grow into the theatre, becoming an integral part of it for a shorter or longer period of time. Some of them become professionals and train for theatre jobs; others come back as regular spectators.
For those who prefer to watch: Of course, part of the Schauspielhaus’s programme is geared toward young people. This includes Suna Gürler’s productions, which always revolve around topics of concern to newer generations. But that’s not all: the age recommendations (“Also interesting for...”) also provide a hint. And after our last classroom play Greta – which ran over 100 times in schools all over the canton of Zurich – this autumn, Amore United, the newest play for schoolrooms by junges theater basel, is coming to Zurich, once again written by Lucien Haug, and this time, directed by him, too.
For those who prefer not just to watch but to talk about things, too: The Supervistas are always happy to welcome visitors!
By the way, for everyone under age 30, it’s possible for an amount of only CHF 111 to binge-watch all Schauspielhaus productions with the flat-rate subscription, giving them access to as many pieces as they like.
Program
Productions & Events 23/24
Also interesting for ages 14 and up
jetzt, jetzt, jetzt
© Zoé Aubry
A human being enters the stage. And now?
.
After the mission to premiere contemporary Swiss authors, Suna Gürler now turns her attention to her future bosses. While it is unclear what the future holds for the Schauspielhaus Zürich, one thing remains certain: A network of young people.
Bullestress
@ Gina Folly
Astro, Ella, Damn, Nabil and Mari are a gang, a bubble, a band. They have just produced their first song and, sure, they swear: It's going to be a bomb. Unfortunately, another bomb hits first: a case of racist police violence in their immediate vicinity.
Productions Jugendclubs
Productions Jugendclubs 1–4. The premieres of the four clubs will take place in May and June 2024 at Pfauen and Schiffbau. More Information.
Blickfelder Festival
30. May to 9. June 2024
The Blickfelder Festival presents international theatre and dance productions for young audiences, bringing to life collaborations between local schools and cultural institutions. Every other year, Blickfelder occupies a public space in the city of Zurich through a diverse cultural programme and opportunities for participation. The Schauspielhaus is one of the most important partners of the festival. In the season 21/22, K, the final work of the Theaterjahr, was shown as part of the Blickfelder Festival.
Offene Bühne
The Offene Bühne is a series of events organised and run by the Theaterjahr. It takes place every second Saturday of the month at the Matchbox in the Schiffbau and is aimed at young people who want to try their hand at art. There are no limits to what you can do on the open stage - except for the ten-minute length of your contribution. You can register in advance via theaterjahr [at] schauspielhaus.ch or spontaneously on the evening. Admission is free. More information.
sing me a love song!
© junges theater basel
What is the right love song for you? Have you ever thought about it? Once you start, you can’t stop asking yourself: What do I really want? What am I willing to give? And what do I dream of? Six young people between the ages of 19 and 23 asked themselves and those around them how they feel about love and relationships and how this translates into music – a stream of Gen Z voices. “From hearts for hearts” (bz)
Spiilplätz
26. bis 29. Juni 2024, Schiffbau-Box and other places in Zurich
After being held in Bern, Basel and Lucerne, Switzerland’s largest meeting of theatre youth clubs is finally coming back to Zurich! Twelve youth clubs from all over Switzerland will meet at the Schauspielhaus, Kulturmarkt and Theater GZ Buchegg to show the works they have created over the year, accompanied by supporting programme of workshops and after-show discussions for the participating young audience.
Past productions & events 23/24
Ich chan es Zündhölzli azünde
© Diana Pfammatter
After the success of the play Bullestress (translates to: Trouble with Cops), the second play by Fatima Moumouni and Laurin Buser for the Schauspielhaus Zürich now follows: They create a pointed scenario for director Suna Gürler about a young person who no longer wants to keep quiet about the injustice of the political order. And then drops a match.
My Heart is Full of Na-Na-Na
© Zoé Aubry
A man with broken wings plops down from the roof into the nest of a broken family. Enter: Tearjerker, famous through- out Switzerland for his botched Eurovision Song Contest.
Riesenhaft in Mittelerde™
© Philip Frowein
Nature conquers the Schiffbau! Plants and talking trees grow in the Halle and offer a peaceful home to the Hobbits, Elves, Dwarves, Wizards, Humans and Orcs from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings™. But the peace is deceptive: a ring has long been in the world to „rule „them all […] and in the darkness bind them“.
Amore United
© Junges Theater Basel
Mira drags Gwen and Yves into a classroom. Gwen has – everyone has seen it – jabbed a fork into Yves’s hand. With a running start. On purpose. But why? No one knows for certain. We only know for sure that Yves is bleeding and Gwen doesn’t want to apologise.
Productions 23/24 for children und families
Also interesting between the ages 6 and 12
Schneewittchen Beauty Queen
© Zoé Aubry
“Who is the fairest of them all?” – Because a talking mirror fails to answer this question to the satisfaction of a stepmother eaten up with envy, she decides to bump off her stepdaughter. Upon which said stepdaughter seeks refuge with seven dwarfs, who are happy to take her in – under the condition that she take care of their housekeeping.
The Ozard of Wiz
© Kamerich Budwilowitz
Maas theater en dans, Rotterdam
In The Ozard of Wiz, seven people return to their childhood, to a time without shame. They all hope to eventually get what they have been searching for all their lives: brains, courage, a heart and a home. The play serves vogue, pop music and melancholy – with a 70s sauce.
Tanzfestival Steps: Die Flüstertüten
© Anne-Laure Lechat
The art of ventriloquism is an impressive, age-old artistic practice. People who mastered it were considered possessed, sorcerers and witches, espe- cially in past centuries. The Lausanne choreographer Yasmine Hugonnet mischievously explores the history of ventriloquism, and gives a placeless yet enveloping voice to the female gender, whose stories have remained mute for centuries. For Steps, Yasmine Hugonnet adapts her dance cabaret for a young German-speaking audience.
Audience
*offers to watch*
Flatrate Subscription U30
Our subscription for people under thirty years of age gives you access to all performances (except for premieres) for a one-off payment of CHF 111. Tickets to each show may only be obtained on the day of the performance, from the box office. You do not need a Student-Legi cardtotake out our under 30 subscription. You must show your subscription card and ID card when purchasing tickets.Thi Subscription is non-transferable. To the subscriptions.
Legi Tickets
All subscriptions (except the flatrate subscription U30) and tickets are half-price for holders of the Student-Legi and KulturLegi. To the discounts.
Last Minute Ticket
If performances are not sold out, Legi holders will receive tickets at the box office on Theatermontag at the last-minute price of CHF 18.
Supervistas
The Supervistas will be on the road again in the 2023/24 theater season. The group is open to all young people between the ages of 15 and 25 who do not play theater, but rather watch theater and want to critically discuss what they have seen. To the Supervistas.
*offers to join*
Youth Clubs
Collective experimentation, improvisation and creation are what the clubs are all about. People from the ages of 14 to 24 who are enthusiastic about acting will come together in four clubs to learn about theatre on a weekly basis. From October 2023 to June 2024, they will sweat, talk and rehearse together until they can finally express themselves on the Schauspielhaus stages in plays of their own creation. To the Youth Clubs.
Theaterjahr
Every year, five young people have the opportunity to be part of the Schauspielhaus Zürich for an entire season. For 12 months they are part of the theatre pedagogy team and, in addition, can work in the areas of directing, dramaturgy, project planning and public relations. Furthermore, they can get a taste of all other departments as well. To the Theaterjahr.
Theatre & School
Young people – in the audience or as performers – will, at every level, become a part of the Schauspielhaus Zürich. The common mission of the theatre-education and communication teams, as was well as the directors and dramaturges of the Schauspielhaus Zürich, is to enhance the theatre-going experience of every individual with a variety of concepts and formats: introductions before performances, preparatory and follow-up workshops, rehearsal visits, talks, guided tours of the theatre and much more.
To the Theater & School page.
Doppelspiel
While the adults sit in the performance, the children discover the same play behind the scenes. On a rehearsal stage at the theater, the children engage with the themes of the production in age-appropriate workshops and gain an insight into the world of theater.
To the Doppelspiel page.
