Peter Winkler and Christian Höhener have been performing as Lapsus on stage for 30 years. In their eighth show, “Ego!,” they appear as themselves for the first time. Their fictional characters don’t find this funny at all.
Theo Hitzig and Bruno Gschwind have a problem. The hot-tempered know-it-all in the too-tight black suit and the loyal but dim-witted slacker in the orange work smock have been the stars of Lapsus for over two decades. Now their creators want to take the mic themselves. In “Ego!”, Peter Winkler and Christian Höhener reveal—without disguises—who they are and how it all began. Hitzig and Gschwind object: “Without us, you’re nothing!” And they promptly take command.
For the anniversary program, the two comedians are bringing back their entire repertoire. The dancing farmers Sellerie and Rinderwahn, with whom it all began. The singing Swabians Harald & Harald. And, of course, Hitzig and Gschwind. New to the ensemble: Peter and Christian, in the flesh. The line between role and reality blurs, and at some point it’s no longer clear who’s actually playing whom.
“Many comedians appear on stage as themselves. We love our characters, but we want to continue to evolve,” Christian Höhener told the *Tagblatt der Stadt Zürich*. “That’s why in *Ego* we also show who we are behind the roles.” Peter Winkler adds: “There’s a humorous tension between the fictional characters and the real people.” The two also notice in their private lives just how much the characters have become part of them. “When I say something funny in private, I sometimes realize that I’m playing Hitzig,” Winkler admitted to SRF.
Winkler and Höhener met in 1991 at the Scuola Teatro Dimitri in Ticino. The trained teacher and the civil engineering draftsman were the country bumpkins among all the street performers and quickly hit it off. Their first act was a parody of Swiss wrestling—both acrobatic and goofy at the same time. With it, they won the Golden Spotlight award in 1995 and were featured in the Arosa Humor Festival program. This was followed by television appearances, a tour with Circus Knie, and seven full-length shows, most recently the hits “Stille Kracht” and “Circus Lapsus Helveticus.”
It’s rare for a comedy duo to last three decades. “Christian is my longest-running relationship,” says Winkler. “And it’s still going strong.” Höhener describes his partner as his opposite: “Peter provides the stabilizing element I need. We’re yin and yang.” Both live in Dietikon, just a stone’s throw from each other, and develop their shows there in their workshop. They’ve thought about calling it quits, they say. The rule is clear: it’s only over when it’s no longer funny.
For “Ego!”, that moment is a long way off. Lapsus promises a wild mix of chaos, big laughs, and a fast-paced blend of music, acrobatics, videos, and wordplay.