4/5, or the art of not becoming background music

Invited to the Swiss Theatre Festival 2026

Invited to the Berlin Authors’ Theatre Days 2026

Four elderly people and five chairs. The four sit down; one chair remains empty, for one is missing. Are they whiling away their time in front of a block of flats or a care home? Do they meet at a petrol station or in a café, in a dingy bar? It doesn’t matter. What is clear, however, is that they have known each other for a very, very long time. One is in love with another and doesn’t say so. One is mourning the fifth and won’t face it. One is still a child and spins round and round, dancing. One just wants some peace and quiet at last. All four would like to feel freer, now, in this final fifth of their lives.

What awaits us in old age, and what do we expect from old age? How differently do people deal with the passing years? Can one learn to draw a line under things at some point, and do we even want to? How do we cope with the fact that society attributes the significance of lift music to us and prefers to turn a deaf ear?

In 4/5, very different people come together, grapple with their questions, hopes and problems, and repeatedly explore old age in a playful way. They reminisce, they make plans, and perhaps in the end there will be more empty chairs than there were at the start.

The Lucerne-based theatre group Zell:stoff, founded in 2009 by actor and producer Patric Gehrig, director Sophie Stierle and set designer Saskya Germann, creates plays addressing socio-political themes in collaboration with various artists from the independent scene. Collaboration with contemporary authors is central to this work. Hannah Zufall is a playwright, radio playwright and screenwriter; she lives in Berlin.

art-tv report from 28 November 2025

Luzerner Zeitung, 8 January 2026