director

director

MUTTERZUNGEN

what is lost when a language disappears?

A CO-PRODUCTION WITH GESSNERALLEE ZURICH AND FRASCATI THEATRE AMSTERDAM

PREMIERE MAY 2026

What is lost when a language disappears? An intimate, poetic encounter between three speakers of endangered languages in the dark.

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What makes language alive—and where does understanding begin? 

A linguist who speaks Bamum-Shüpamom, an author who speaks Romansh, and a language activist who speaks Sorbian come together in a space filled with cushions, voices and memories. Fluidly switching between different languages, translations, and the untranslatable, they reflect together on loss and legacy, on language as a form of resistance and a space of possibility. 

The audience lies in the middle of this conversation, similar to a sleepover, where language appears not as a pure means of communication, but as sound, relationship, and lived practice. Mindful listening beyond linguistic understanding becomes a shared experience.

A theater evening that emerges in the spaces between translations. In various spoken languages. Without surtitles.

Concept, Artistic Direction: Rebekka Bangerter

Artistic Collaboration & Performance: Asa Hendry, Solange P. Molu, Felicia Touvenot

Text: Asa Hendry, Solange P. Molu, Felicia Touvenot, Rebekka Bangerter

Dramaturgy: Hayat Erdoğan / Henriette Festerling

Scenography & Costumes: Franca Manz

Sound Design & Composition: Dominic Röthlisberger

Lighting Design & Technical Direction: Lukas Sander

Graphic Design: Matthias Nüesch

Consultant & Artistic Collaboration on Audio Description: Lenthe Basant

Audio Description Collaboration & Voice: Julia Skof

Production: Rebekka Bangerter / Asa Hendry

Interviews & Voices: Madlenka Šołćic, Marija Šołćic, Regina Šołćic, Gianna Olinda Cadonau, Paul Caduff, Werner Carigiet and others

Co-produced with: Gessnerallee and Frascati Producties

With heartfelt thanks to:

Übersetzerhaus Looren, HIGA! Gasteiz, YEN, Juliana Matthew, Mariona Miret, Nina Postma, Quadriye Yildiz, Amin El-Didi, Anna Feliu, Bharathi Mayandi Franaszek, Denise Ledermann, Hevin Karakurt, Julia Büsser, Ulysse Berdat, Viktoria Mytsyk