DIE KLEINE MEERJUNGFRAU – with English surtitles, Introduction 7.30 p.m.

«When people see a fish, no one thinks to ask if it is male or female. An aquarium is like paradise in that respect. They marvel at you for your beauty, and no one wants to look between your legs.»

Under water we humans have unclear vision. Shapes blur. Physical boundaries dissolve. Everything flows. The same thing happens in drag, the artform that dissolves gender roles with extravagant costumes and makeup, plunges identities in glitter and sequins, and most of all, delivers a breathtaking show. Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale exhibits a similar transformation. A mermaid falls in love with someone and wants to get rid of her fishtail. The well-known ending of the story is tragic. Perhaps it reflects Andersen’s own fate: He was in love with his boyhood friend and could never live that love. Indeed it is a tale as old as humanity itself – of nymphs, mermaids, water spirits, of transformation and liberation from ascribed roles.

Director Bastian Kraft, who is well known to the Schauspielhaus Zürich, has delighted audiences in recent years with his productions of “Andorra” and “Homo Faber” by Max Frisch and “Buddenbrooks” by Thomas Mann.
Now, instead of the prince's love on land, Bastian Kraft seeks happiness in the sea: with performers from the ensemble and stars from the Swiss drag scene, he re-reads the story of the Little Mermaid and dives into a place where biography and fairy tale merge and drag and drama blur into a show de nixe.