Mir nämeds uf öis

One of today’s central questions is, “What shall I do with the mistakes I have made on earth?” This is not so much about a desire for spiritual forgiveness as a search for somewhere to dispose of the dubious facts and figures that encumber our financial, political, ideological and ecological balance sheets. Things that would once simply have been concealed with Tipp-Ex or negotiated in the confessional have been given the name “bad bank” – at least since the last world financial crisis. This institution will take on anything that is monetarily rotten or absolutely putrid, thus restoring the innocent sparkle to the marble columns of the traditional financial institutions. But considering the global abundance of sin, is this enough? Hardly. For precisely this reason, Christoph Marthaler and his ensemble establish a “bad state,” detached from the mainland, which exists solely to take on other people’s problems. All of them. We’ll take them on!

“Christoph Marthaler is staging a production at Zurich’s Schauspielhaus for the first time since his departure as director. ‘Mir nämeds uf öis’ is the title of the programme, which features many of his favourite antics and had the audience in raptures at the première.” Tages-Anzeiger

“When Wagner’s ‘Parsifal’ merges seamlessly with ‘Happy Birthday’ in a minor key and Udo Jürgens stands on an equal footing with Bach, then it can only be Christoph Marthaler and his fantastic ensemble at work. ‘Mir nämeds uf öis’ is the title of their latest, jointly developed escapade, with which the once ousted director has triumphantly returned to Zurich’s Schauspielhaus.” NZZ am Sonntag

“At the very end, when the journey is over, every word has been spoken and every song has been sung, applause breaks out at the Schauspielhaus – there has been none more rapturous at the Pfauen for a very long time. Zurich theatregoers shout ‘bravo’ and stamp their feet; they cheer as if, at this moment, nothing should come to an end. The actors, who have turned the evening into a sensation for the audience, repeatedly take their bows and receive their accolades. In the middle of them stands director Christoph Marthaler, who has taken them on this journey.” Der Landbote

“Despite the gentleness of his productions, the amiable whimsicality of the figures performing in them, and their delicate musicality, we must never forget that Marthaler has, fundamentally, always been a political director. And, of course, remains so. ‘Mir nämeds uf öis’ is a trenchant review of the sleazy side of all business practices. This is a very Swiss point of departure – the Confederation provides ample subject matter.” Süddeutsche Zeitung

“One climax outdoes the other: Nikola Weisse, in her motherly costume, practically breaks down – not only vocally – in her performance of Elton John’s ballad, ‘Sorry seems to be the hardest word.’ Ueli Jäggi is an even more convincing Peter Alexander. Dethleffsen, Wirth and Rafael Clamer, wearing sleeping masks, are electro-poppers in the ‘Kraftwerk’ genre, presenting their pop version of old Vivaldi. And the Norwegian singer Tora Augestad, who has recently become a permanent fixture in every musical arrangement by Marthaler, belts out a ‘Rheingold’ aria while mounting a haunch of venison in an effort to banish the ‘sultry vapours’ between her thighs.” NZZ

“At the end, Marthaler reveals his crafty side. He stages the Zurich custom of burning the ‘Böögg,’ has his stooping and doddery ensemble running around the burning figure as if they were propping themselves up on walking frames, and holds up the spring event to ridicule – as a bourgeois ritual for elderly gentlemen. The Zurich audience applauded and stamped their feet.” Nachtkritik.de

“In Duri Bischoff’s stage set, everything is as soft and airy as a soufflé, so absurd and comical that the audience cannot stop laughing for two hours.” St. Galler Tagblatt