Schauspielhaus Zurich: Theater for everyone!

The program booklet is as white as a blank slate; discreetly embossed on the cover, it simply reads "Schauspielhaus Zürich." This certainly fits the designated, still largely unknown, dual directorship of Pinar Karabulut and Rafael Sanchez, who will write a new chapter in Zurich theater history starting in fall 2025. On Wednesday, they presented the 2025/26 season at the Schiffbau.

Diversity is in vogue. There are so many divides in Zurich – between old and young, between hip and bourgeois, between Frisch and Dürrenmatt fans. The theater should bring these diverse people together. The artistic directors, however, want to cater to diverse tastes – with a "colorful bouquet" of subjects, artistic styles, and forms of expression. Thus, traditional spoken theater is more likely to be located in the Pfauen. Experiments and border crossings are planned for the stages in the Schiffbau.

However, the large Schiffbauhalle will only host one new production next season. Pinar Karabulut will present her production of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's "Il Gattopardo" (November 29). At the Pfauen, however, she will also present "Like Lovers Do" (September 20), an earlier production for the Munich Kammerspiele. Finally, she will direct Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (March 14).

Rafael Sanchez will be kicking off the new season. He is directing Beat Sterchi's cult novel "Blösch" (1983) in a stage adaptation by Mike Müller. The comedian and actor, who has collaborated with Sanchez on numerous occasions, is also a permanent member of the ensemble. He will also host a talk show called "Pforte." Half of the 33-member ensemble has been renewed – some with young actors fresh from the academy, some with returning celebrities such as Margot Gödrös, Peter Knaak, and Markus Scheumann. Old acquaintances, such as Michael Neuenschwander, Matthias Neukirch, and Karin Pfammatter, have remained, however.

Karabulut and Sanchez – she enthusiastic and lively, he more calm and orderly – characterized their artistic direction by shared goals: their new hobby is to gain subscribers. At the same time, however, they value different artistic styles. A number of other directors, who together will perform 19 plays, will ensure the promised diversity.

Claudia Bossard, for example, is directing Max Frisch's "Graf Öderland" (September 25); Japanese playwright Sakoto Ichihara has adapted Euripides' "The Bacchae" into "Holstein Dairy Cows" (October 18); Greeks Angeliki Papoulia and Christos Passalis are presenting a classic Euripides play with their production of "Hecuba" (December 12). Stefan Kaegi (Rimini Protokoll) is presenting his family play "The Magic Formula of Zurich" (November 8); Christina Tscharyiski is directing "3 Sisters" – a play written for the Schauspielhaus by Serbian Barbi Marković (January 17). And controversial theater and opera director Calixto Bieito is staging "Manica," a novel by Chilean Benjamin Labatut (May 8).

Will Karabulut and Sanchez be able to bring life's current problems and questions to the stage with their program? Hopefully, but little is known yet. However, sometimes the world can be explained through simple things. Ruedi Häusermann demonstrates this in his new play "You might be thinking, what am I hearing, and I tell you, it's the washing machine" (February 6).