The intendants of the Schauspielhaus Zürich will not have their contracts renewed. The decision follows months of attacks from the right against the diversification and artistic opening of the institution. We demand that the decision be revised. Because this is what the future of theater looks like, a theater where there’s space for everyone. We want more of it!
Sign our open letter now.
Read the full letter.
The intendants did their job, attracted a lot of people to the theater who would never have gone otherwise, even despite a three-year pandemic; they garnered international praise and awards—but still they’re being dismissed. What started with a months-long press campaign against so-called “woke mania” and polemics about the visitor numbers is now culminating with the removal of the intendants of Schauspielhaus Zürich, which is simply being presented as a decision not to renew their contracts.
As with all cultural institutions in the German-speaking world, the audience is only now gradually returning after three years of a pandemic. The planned termination and replacement of the team would not only be expensive, but also unfair: the spiteful and exaggerated public debate about the budget and visitor numbers only served to fan the flames of the media’s contempt towards the Schauspielhaus and its aspiration to become a theater for the many, and not just a chosen few.
At a city theater, there must be space to represent all of the city’s residents. For those who want classics, love dance theater, and performances; who are young or old, rebellious or conservative, who have different histories, religions, identities. For art that touches, stimulates, surprises, and challenges. No one has to fear those who have been left out of the theater for far too long and no longer want to be ignored. What we do have to fear are those raving about the “classics” when what they really want is regression.
One thing is certain: theater needs to be renewed, and Schauspielhaus Zürich was well on its way to achieving it. This process may be uncomfortable for those who fear losses. It would have needed more patience, more support from the Department of Culture, more discussions with the city’s residents, and more openness. But above all: more time.
In the end, the need for a false peace in Zurich won out against the need for change, old power structures against those who want to open them up, despondency against courage. The artistic loss threatening this city is great.
For us, it is clear that the process of opening up the institution and expanding the concept of theater, which the many people who work at the Schauspielhaus have begun, must be continued and encouraged.
Dear decision-makers of the city, dear Administrative Board: decisions made under pressure can also be revised. It is not a sign of weakness, but of the strength to question oneself. This is where a theater of the future can take shape. The first steps have been made: we want more of it!
