Karl's Kühne Gassenschau won the Swiss Theater Prize last year. No wonder! The furious theater troupe's shows have long been cult in Switzerland. "Sektor 1" is the name of their latest prank. The story revolves around the environment and is set in a fantastically abysmal landscape. Again with fun, music, stunts and lots of surprises.
Anyone who gets in the way will be punished. And those who play by the rules will be rewarded with a stay in "Sector 1". This is the pampering oasis of the future, a natural idyll of lovely green hills, a landscape that proves to be a real grab bag. With lots of live music, fire, smoke and curious characters. Anyone who saw the last "Kühnen" show will have guessed that this future world will not remain harmonious and idyllic. This time, too, you can bet on how many surprises there will be: Back then, in "FABRIKK", the whole set was unceremoniously hydraulically packed up at the end and made ready for shipment to China. This time, too, it will be exciting, with talk of hellish rides and daredevil machines as well as the use of stuntmen for dangerous jumps.
It's unbelievable how this troupe has developed! In 1984, Karl's Kühne was really nothing more than an alleyway show with juggling, high-wheel balances and slapstick. "People stopped going to the theater," recalls Ernesto Graf, "so we took to the streets." The co-founder, ETH graduate and doctor of mathematics, was responsible for the finances for a long time and now only works as a charming usher.
Rewarded by success - honored with prizes
Brigitt Maag, Paul Weilenmann and the other team members have turned it into a big show, each with its own theme and story. Sometimes it was about cruises, building sites, then traffic jams or an old people's home that was to be turned into a profit center. There was always comedy, fun and thrills, but at the same time the makers used the plot to make their audience think.
This concept and, of course, the virtuoso execution have earned the "Kühnen" many awards - even the Swiss Theater Prize in 2015, the most prestigious award of its kind in Switzerland.
100 experts for the arena, 50 work for the show
Now it's the environmental theme's turn. No more is revealed about the story. Except that a 33-metre-long tunnel was laid at the venue, a bunker including a cable car was built and a 9-metre-high control tower was erected on the 48,000 square meters of industrial wasteland in Oberwinterthur.
