Theatre festival looks east

Hitler was a target in one of last year's plays at the "Theater Spektakel" Keystone

Zurich's annual theatre festival, the Theater Spektakel, is continuing to follow an innovative line in its choice of performers and artists at this year's lakeside event, which runs from Thursday to September 3.

Festival director Marcus Luchsinger told swissinfo: “An investigation of theatre in Eastern Europe will be its focus. Through what is happening there culturally you can see many things which contradict the political information coming out of it.”

Throughout the festival, companies from Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Poland will perform, offering Zurich audiences an insight into the region’s contemporary theatre scene.

Audiences can also look forward to the second performance of a group from Vietnam in the festival’s 20-year history, when the Vietnamese National Water Puppet Theatre actually performs in the lake itself.

“The Theater Spektakel takes place in a park bordering the lake in Zurich and we’re building a stage right into it. I hope this stage will become a trademark for future years,” said Luchsinger.

Among the hundreds of performances will be three premières from Swiss dance and theatre companies – “Medeää”, “Mr Winter” and “Feet Above Ground”.

“Since it started, the aim of the Theater Spektakel has been to give a very broad vision of what theatre can be and also involve members of the audience,” said Luchsinger, “and that’s what has kept us young over the past 20 years.”

by Tom O’Brien