PROGRAM
PROGRAM
Thursday - 11.09.25
Hopeful Monsters
Cie Hopeful Monsters (GB)
10:30
/ BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
COST PER SCHOOLCHILD: CHF 5 CHF FOR CLASSES FROM BS AND BL
Duration: 40 min.
From 6 years of age
No language
Hopeful Monsters is a piece of visual tabletop theater. From simple organisms to giant beasts, this is a story of evolution told entirely with the hands. Combining visual theater, an original soundtrack, and puppetry, Hopeful Monsters is a playful exploration of the fact that all living things are made up of the same basic building blocks. Constantly in motion and undergoing change, human hands move in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures on our journey through water, earth, and air. It is a story of survival and struggle, of connection and transformation. A reminder of the playfulness of life. After all, we humans are animals too.
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Ella Mackay, Eti Meacock, Bori Mezö
MIZU
Satchie Noro & Élise Vigneron (F) & Cie Furinkaï & Théâtre de l’Entrouvert (F)
19:00
/ BIRSKÖPFLI
> TICKET
> INFOS
Opening piece
Duration: 50 min.
For young and old
No language
The venue is dependent on weather and flooding conditions. We will announce HERE at short notice whether we need to move to the Naturbad Riehen outdoor pool.
Mizu, which means water in Japanese (水), is a choreographic piece about a body of water, a landscape piece, a pas de trois, embodied by a dancer, an ice puppet, and her puppeteer.
The creative project Mizu is part of Élise’s ongoing explorations of ice over the past ten years. It continues the exploration of this material for two intertwined bodies of ice and flesh, balancing acts, lifts, counterweights, in the air, on the ground, and underwater.
In Mizu, on the tightrope between appearance and disappearance, Élise and Satchie want to celebrate transience, the fragility of existence as an ode to life, the fusion with the element that makes up our bodies: water, the transition from form to formlessness, from the individual to the cosmos.
Credits
Conception – direction: Satchie Noro et Elise Vigneron /
Cie Furinkaï et Théâtre de l’Entrouvert
With: Sarah Lascar (puppeteer), Satchie Noro (dancer)
Choreography: Satchie Noro
Puppet design – outside perspective: Elise Vigneron
Design and construction of scenographic: Silvain Ohl et Éric Noel
Puppet Construction: Vincent Debuire et Théo Nerestan
Textile design: Aurore Thibout
Music: Carlos Canales
Friday - 12.09.25
Hopeful Monsters
Cie Hopeful Monsters (GB)
09:00
/ BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
COST PER SCHOOLCHILD: CHF 5 CHF FOR CLASSES FROM BS AND BL
Duration: 40 min.
From 6 years of age
No language
Hopeful Monsters is a piece of visual tabletop theater. From simple organisms to giant beasts, this is a story of evolution told entirely with the hands. Combining visual theater, an original soundtrack, and puppetry, Hopeful Monsters is a playful exploration of the fact that all living things are made up of the same basic building blocks. Constantly in motion and undergoing change, human hands move in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures on our journey through water, earth, and air. It is a story of survival and struggle, of connection and transformation. A reminder of the playfulness of life. After all, we humans are animals too.
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Ella Mackay, Eti Meacock, Bori Mezö
Au jardin des potiniers
Cie Ersatz (F)
10:15
/ MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
> INFOS
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
For schools/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
COST PER SCHOOLCHILD: CHF 5 CHF FOR CLASSES FROM BS AND BL
Duration: 45 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: German
It is the sweet world of chocolate and its temptations that the KMZ Collective delves into with stories from their childhood in North and Central America. Full of playful joy, they guide the audience through the history of cocoa – from the time of the Maya to the present day. In doing so, they address both the enslavement of children on cocoa plantations and the manipulative tricks of the confectionery industry, and ask the question of whether there is a better and fairer way to sweet happiness.
In an interactive theater space with video and live music, cocoa touches us, appeals to our senses, and reveals the stories behind the beautiful and colorful packaging.
*Please note: During the performance, moderate to strong vibrations may occur due to the sound.
Credits:
Von und mit: Antonio Cerezo Daniela del Pomar, Yahima Piedra Córdova
Dramaturgische Beratung: Christofer Schmidt
Außenblick: Laia RiCa, Francisco Javier Rojas Trejo
Bühnenbild und Kostüme: María Reyes, Pérez Fernández
Inflatables: Alfredo Sciuto
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
GUCKLER UND ÄUGLINGE
KOLLEKTIV HOCHHINAUS (CH)
15:00
- 19:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Installation and walk-in workshop
(collection)
For young and old
Gawkers, peepers, and onlookers populate the square. They are also reborn—built, glued, staged. They gaze, peer, look—obviously and also covertly—appearing and disappearing. You create them and find their place.
Participants can come and go as they please. The materials are ready, and so are we.
Credits
Spiel: Erika Gedeon, Sonja Greuter, Markus Hermann, Tobi Hobi, Muriel Reimers, Lukas Roth, Dani Schweiwiller, Stefan Schmidhofer
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Künstlerische Leitung: Gabriel Charlebois-Plante, Odile Gamache
Technische Leitung: Julien Boisvert
Schauspiel: Jérémie Desbiens, Maude Arès, Pénélope Dulude de Broin, Sarah Bengle
Regie: Emilie Martel
Licht: Julie Basse
Ton: Noam Rzewski
Meeting point: Münsterplatz Festival Center
Four plays in one ticket!
With Marius Alsleben, Lutz Grossmann, Matija Sole, and Company O Quel Hommage
O QUEL DOMMAGE COMPANY (BEL)
«Room Service»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
«Room Service» is a darkly humorous sketch show in fool mode that distorts the stereotypes of the mother-baby relationship and illuminates the unspoken fantasies and urges inherent in motherhood. The baby is a puppet with a human head and hands, creating an absurdly comical figure. Its helplessness in relation to the mother makes it touching and shows how deeply exhaustion destabilizes the mother. This number is based on the interaction between the characters, as well as visual illusion and a soundscape consisting of babbling and other poutou-poutous.
Credits
Schauspiel: Justine Moreau et Estelle Beugin
Text: Justine Moreau et Céline Pellin
Blick von Aussen: Clara Lopez, Francy Begasse
MATIJA SOLCE (SVN)
«Little Night Tales»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Language: Englisch
When night falls and the human world takes a moment to recover from its turmoil, a writer attempts to compose a short story. Tired, he falls asleep, and in his dreams, the objects around him and the characters he has imagined come to life. Stories and narratives intertwine between them. This puppet show is aimed at audiences of all ages and features puppets with original animation mechanisms.
Credits
Idee und Regie: Matija Solce
LUTZ GROSSMANN (D)
«Solo mit Drehorgel»
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
MARIUS ALSLEBEN (D)
«20 Liter O»
Dauer: 20 min.
Für Gross und Klein
Ohne Sprache
A performer and 35 plastic canisters come into contact and form a community that oscillates between living beings and objects. A choir emerges: they sing, tremble, and realign themselves. The performer is part of the system, a border crosser between control and instability. Everything begins to sway. A canister overflows. The last drop falls. What remains when the sound ends and the canisters become objects?
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Marius Alsleben
Meeting point: Münsterplatz Festival Center
Four plays in one ticket!
With Marius Alsleben, Lutz Grossmann, Matija Sole, and Company O Quel Hommage
O QUEL DOMMAGE COMPANY (BEL)
«Room Service»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
«Room Service» is a darkly humorous sketch show in fool mode that distorts the stereotypes of the mother-baby relationship and illuminates the unspoken fantasies and urges inherent in motherhood. The baby is a puppet with a human head and hands, creating an absurdly comical figure. Its helplessness in relation to the mother makes it touching and shows how deeply exhaustion destabilizes the mother. This number is based on the interaction between the characters, as well as visual illusion and a soundscape consisting of babbling and other poutou-poutous.
Credits
Schauspiel: Justine Moreau et Estelle Beugin
Text: Justine Moreau et Céline Pellin
Blick von Aussen: Clara Lopez, Francy Begasse
MATIJA SOLCE (SVN)
«Little Night Tales»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Language: Englisch
When night falls and the human world takes a moment to recover from its turmoil, a writer attempts to compose a short story. Tired, he falls asleep, and in his dreams, the objects around him and the characters he has imagined come to life. Stories and narratives intertwine between them. This puppet show is aimed at audiences of all ages and features puppets with original animation mechanisms.
Credits
Idee und Regie: Matija Solce
LUTZ GROSSMANN (D)
«Solo mit Drehorgel»
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
MARIUS ALSLEBEN (D)
«20 Liter O»
Duration: 20 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
A performer and 35 plastic canisters come into contact and form a community that oscillates between living beings and objects. A choir emerges: they sing, tremble, and realign themselves. The performer is part of the system, a border crosser between control and instability. Everything begins to sway. A canister overflows. The last drop falls. What remains when the sound ends and the canisters become objects?
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Marius Alsleben
Saturday - 13.09.25
Hopeful Monsters
Cie Hopeful Monsters (GB)
11:00
/ BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
Family theatre
Duration: 40 min.
From 6 years of age
No language
Hopeful Monsters is a piece of visual tabletop theater. From simple organisms to giant beasts, this is a story of evolution told entirely with the hands. Combining visual theater, an original soundtrack, and puppetry, Hopeful Monsters is a playful exploration of the fact that all living things are made up of the same basic building blocks. Constantly in motion and undergoing change, human hands move in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures on our journey through water, earth, and air. It is a story of survival and struggle, of connection and transformation. A reminder of the playfulness of life. After all, we humans are animals too.
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Ella Mackay, Eti Meacock, Bori Mezö
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
GUCKLER UND ÄUGLINGE
KOLLEKTIV HOCHHINAUS (CH)
13:00
- 18:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Installation and walk-in workshop
(collection)
For young and old
Gawkers, peepers, and onlookers populate the square. They are also reborn—built, glued, staged. They gaze, peer, look—obviously and also covertly—appearing and disappearing. You create them and find their place.
Participants can come and go as they please. The materials are ready, and so are we.
Credits
Spiel: Erika Gedeon, Sonja Greuter, Markus Hermann, Tobi Hobi, Muriel Reimers, Lukas Roth, Dani Schweiwiller, Stefan Schmidhofer
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Imaginary friends & creatures
Diana Ammann (CH)
14:00
- 17:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> TRAILER
> INFOS
Walking act with several creatures
collection
Duration: 3 h
No age rating
For young and old alike
They are shy, charming, flamboyant – and deeply human:
Diana Ammann’s Imaginary Friends & Creatures are beings beyond all categories.
They are a silent rebellion against the norm, an invitation to encounter, to pause, to be different.
With humor and idiosyncrasy, they encounter the everyday – and celebrate the beauty of connection and diversity with gentle anarchy.
Credits
Konzept, Umsetzung, Creature-Design: Diana Ammann
Creatures: Diana Ammann, Marcel Schwald, Beatrice Fleischlin
Family piece
Duration: 45 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: German
It is the sweet world of chocolate and its temptations that the KMZ Collective delves into with stories from their childhood in North and Central America. Full of playful joy, they guide the audience through the history of cocoa – from the time of the Maya to the present day. In doing so, they address both the enslavement of children on cocoa plantations and the manipulative tricks of the confectionery industry, and ask the question of whether there is a better and fairer way to sweet happiness.
In an interactive theater space with video and live music, cocoa touches us, appeals to our senses, and reveals the stories behind the beautiful and colorful packaging.
*Please note: During the performance, moderate to strong vibrations may occur due to the sound.
Credits:
Von und mit: Antonio Cerezo Daniela del Pomar, Yahima Piedra Córdova
Dramaturgische Beratung: Christofer Schmidt
Außenblick: Laia RiCa, Francisco Javier Rojas Trejo
Bühnenbild und Kostüme: María Reyes, Pérez Fernández
Inflatables: Alfredo Sciuto
Room Service
O quel dommage Company (BEL)
15:30
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Street performance
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old
Without language
«Room Service» is a darkly humorous sketch show in fool mode that distorts the stereotypes of the mother-baby relationship and illuminates the unspoken fantasies and urges inherent in motherhood. The baby is a puppet with a human head and hands, creating an absurdly comical character. Its helplessness in relation to its mother makes it touching and shows how deeply the mother’s exhaustion makes her unstable. This act is based on the interaction between the characters, as well as visual illusion and a soundscape consisting of babbling and other poutou-poutous.
Credits
Schauspiel: Justine Moreau et Estelle Beugin
Text: Justine Moreau et Céline Pellin
Blick von Aussen: Clara Lopez, Francy Begasse
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Solo mit Drehorgel
Lutz Grossmann (D)
16:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Streetperformance
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old
No language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
Bestarium
Annina Mosimann (CH)
17:00
/ ALLGEMEINE LESEGESELLSCHAFT BASEL
Streetperformance
Duration: 40 min.
From 5 years of age
Language: none
Feathers flutter, doors creak, dust swirls. In the kitchen, the teapot whistles away, secrets wait to be discovered in the attic, and rumblings can be heard deep down in the cellar. And somewhere in between, a chamber choir of carefree houseflies buzzes.
From fragments of figures, everyday objects, and the playfulness of the human body, an old transport crate is transformed into a scenic bestiary: a wooden dove, a blowfly, and a trembling spider jostle for the spotlight. Limbs, heads, and bodies are transformed into new, curious creatures. Inspired by dusty zoology books and classic variety shows, they sing us stories about living together in confined spaces.
An homage to the house and those who inhabit it.
Credits
Künstlerische Leitung/Dramaturgie: Annina Mosimann
Aussensicht: Lara Epp, Ariel Doron
Außenansicht Musik: Eric Tarantola
Beratung & künstlerische Mitarbeit Szenografie: Lukas Schneider
Dramaturgie: Petra Fischer
Produktionsbegleitung: Marius Kob
Produktionsleitung: Beat Ryser
Lichtgestaltung: Michael Murr
Video, Foto: Nikolaj Leu
VERTE ET LES OISEAUX
Olga David-Rigot und Zoé Sjollema (CH)
17:00
/ THEATER ROXY BIRSFELDEN
> TICKET
> INFOS
Residential show
Duration: 20-30 min.
From 8 years of age
Little language: French
Somewhere in a forest, an old woman nurses an injured
dove, which teaches her to speak the language of birds.
Grandmother Earth teaches her granddaughter Grün, and the two humans
befriend the birds. But the birds in all
directions are concerned: Are humans about to
colonize the sky?
Pinar Selek’s wonderful ecological and feminist
initiation fairy tale Verte et les oiseaux is a story from
the sky, told from beak to beak. A
story of encounters and struggles, and a connection
to a fascinating world. Olga David-Rigot and Zoé
Sjollema have taken it up and adapted it for the stage,
combining bodies, objects, sounds, and live music.
They invite us to turn our ears toward the non-human
They invite us to listen to the non-human
world and to transform our fear of a world drifting apart
into a joyful struggle.
The residency showing will be followed by an audience discussion.
Credits
Text: Pinar Selek
Adaption & künstlerische Leitung: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Mit: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Outside Eye: Rita Belova Lazoukina
Musik und Sounddesign: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Evening play
Duration: 55 min.
From 15 years of age
Language: English with German introduction
“An old woman fell out of the window because she was too curious. She fell and broke into pieces.” This opening draws the audience into the absurd world of Daniil Kharms.
In “Harms Fault,” Matija Solce combines puppetry, music, and situational comedy to portray the absurdity of life. The lively puppets and a complex orchestrion create a captivating atmosphere in which stories and sounds are interwoven. Kharms’ tragic fate as a victim of the repressive regime reinforces the deeper meaning of this performance.
Credits
Regie, Musik und Performance: Matija Solce
Set design: Larisa Kazić
Dramaturgie: Miha Razdrih
Sound design: Ivo Gregorec Sedláček
Set and props production: Matija Solce, Larisa Kazić, Martin Neduha, Ludek Sedlaž,
Ivo Gregorec Sedláček
Produktion: Teatro Matita
Coproduktion: MCLU Koper
Partner Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
Financial support: Ministry for Culture, Slovenia and City of Ljubljana
Letters from My Father
Gare Centrale (BEL)
21:00
/ TANZHAUS BASEL
Evening play
Duration: 75 min.
From 9 years of age
Language: English with German surtitles
In 1959, the Limbos family lived in the Congo, which was still a Belgian colony at the time. A year later, in the year of independence, the children were sent back to Belgium to live with their uncle, a pastor. For Agnès Limbos, who was eight years old at the time, this episode was traumatic.
During the period of separation, the father wrote 46 letters to his children. Little Agnès eagerly awaited each one. “Every time a letter arrived, our uncle would sit down with us in the two large leather armchairs and solemnly read it to us. The 70-year-old woman I have become now wishes to have a conversation with that young girl.” (Agnès Limbos)
The master of object theater opens up a narrative space in which biographical and historical pasts resonate with each other—as intimate as they are universal.
Credits
Konzept, Text, Spiel: Agnès Limbos
Outer Eye/Dramaturgie: Olivia Stainier
Künstlerische Begleitung: Sabine Durand
Lichtdesign: Nicolas Thill
Sounddesign: Pierre Kissling
Kostüme: Françoise Colpé
Szenographie: Val Macé, Joël Bosmans
Choreographie: Nicole Mossoux
Outer Eye, Schauspiel: Bénédicte Liénard
Zusammenarbeit Puppenbau: Natacha Belova und Marta Pereira
Perücke (Puppe): Daphnée Beaulieux
Konstruktion der Objekte: Joachim Jannin
Intime Maquetten: Pablo Gershanik
Beratung Puppenspiel: Neville Tranter
Technik: Nicolas Thill, Antoine Vanagt alt. John Cooper
Inspizient: Joël Bosmans
Englische Übersetzung: Astrid Howard
Sunday - 14.09.25
Roots Revealed: A Workshop on the gaze of memory
Profiworkshop mit KMZ
10:00
- 16:00
/ THEATER BASEL
> TICKET
> INFOS
NUR FÜR PROFIS UND INTERESSIERTE LAIEN
In this imaginative and intimate workshop, participants embark on a journey of autobiographical storytelling through the lens of multimedia and object/material performance theater. Using cherished family photos as a starting point, each participant will weave personal narratives that celebrate memory, identity, and transformation.
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Streetperformance
Duration: 40 min.
From 5 years of age
Language: none
Feathers flutter, doors creak, dust swirls. In the kitchen, the teapot whistles away, secrets wait to be discovered in the attic, and rumblings can be heard deep down in the cellar. And somewhere in between, a chamber choir of carefree houseflies buzzes.
From fragments of figures, everyday objects, and the playfulness of the human body, an old transport crate is transformed into a scenic bestiary: a wooden dove, a blowfly, and a trembling spider jostle for the spotlight. Limbs, heads, and bodies are transformed into new, curious creatures. Inspired by dusty zoology books and classic variety shows, they sing us stories about living together in confined spaces.
An homage to the house and those who inhabit it.
Credits
Künstlerische Leitung/Dramaturgie: Annina Mosimann
Aussensicht: Lara Epp, Ariel Doron
Außenansicht Musik: Eric Tarantola
Beratung & künstlerische Mitarbeit Szenografie: Lukas Schneider
Dramaturgie: Petra Fischer
Produktionsbegleitung: Marius Kob
Produktionsleitung: Beat Ryser
Lichtgestaltung: Michael Murr
Video, Foto: Nikolaj Leu
GUCKLER UND ÄUGLINGE
KOLLEKTIV HOCHHINAUS (CH)
13:00
- 18:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Installation and walk-in workshop
(collection)
For young and old
Gawkers, peepers, and onlookers populate the square. They are also reborn—built, glued, staged. They gaze, peer, look—obviously and also covertly—appearing and disappearing. You create them and find their place.
Participants can come and go as they please. The materials are ready, and so are we.
Credits
Spiel: Erika Gedeon, Sonja Greuter, Markus Hermann, Tobi Hobi, Muriel Reimers, Lukas Roth, Dani Schweiwiller, Stefan Schmidhofer
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Imaginary friends & creatures
Diana Ammann (CH)
14:00
- 17:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> TRAILER
> INFOS
Walking act with several creatures
collection
Duration: 3 h
No age rating
For young and old alike
They are shy, charming, flamboyant – and deeply human:
Diana Ammann’s Imaginary Friends & Creatures are beings beyond all categories.
They are a silent rebellion against the norm, an invitation to encounter, to pause, to be different.
With humor and idiosyncrasy, they encounter the everyday – and celebrate the beauty of connection and diversity with gentle anarchy.
Credits
Konzept, Umsetzung, Creature-Design: Diana Ammann
Creatures: Diana Ammann, Marcel Schwald, Beatrice Fleischlin
Amateurs & Pros
OPEN STAGE
14:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Duration per performance: 5-15 min.
Duration of Open Stage: ca. 30 min.
Language: freely selectable
Registration: produktion@figurentheaterfestival.ch, subject line «Open Stage»
BAFF! invites you onto its stage: present your own performance on a topic of your choice in front of Basel’s largest audience. Whether you’re a pro or a greenhorn, everyone is celebrated on Münsterplatz. Register in advance by email or just drop by spontaneously. You can register for one of the free stage slots in our information bus on Münsterplatz.
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Duration: 60 min.
Age: ages 14 and up
Language: English with German subtitles
Caution advised for people with celiac disease allergies!
In his performance «My Home at the Intersection», Abhishek Thapar, born in Moga, Punjab, reflects on dealing with a legacy of violent conflict and collective trauma. Together with his family, he embarks on a search for the truth about their past by returning to the house of their childhood—a place they thought they had forgotten, but which still exists.
In a final attempt to draw a line under their history, the family moves back into the house and creates a work of art that challenges the reduced perception of Punjab’s recent history. In the intimate atmosphere of his performance, Thapar reveals moments of a personal journey and addresses the complex dilemma of perpetrators and victims, as well as the dialogue between official history and personal memories. Through this creative process, an attempt is made to come to terms with the past and redefine one’s own identity in a context marked by conflict.
Credits:
Concept, Text, Performance: Abhishek Thapar
along with Venu Thapar, Shveta Grover and Ashok Thapar
Dramaturgical Support: Maria Rößler
Text Advice: Divya Nadkarni
Advisors: Floris van Delft and Jeroen Fabius
Cinematographer: Sahib Gill
Film Editing: Jeanette Groenendaal and Rinku Kalsy
Music Composition: Kabeer Kathpalia
German subtitles: Dòra Kapusta
The shark in the bathtub
Education Project (CH)
15:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Family theatre
Duratioin: 20-30 min.
For young and old alike
Language: German
Children who play occasionally lose themselves in a world full of magic, with supernatural abilities, eerie encounters, and mysterious tasks.
They become heroes of their own stories. Sometimes their previous life experiences play a major role, sometimes play and dreams become reality. The children glitch into different matrices, sometimes becoming characters in a comic, sometimes expedition leaders in mysterious places, floating creatures in the river of life, and slipping through a wormhole back into everyday life, where there is dinner, getting up early, homework, and those unspeakably tempting things like smartphones and tablets.”
In cooperation with the teamKURT association and a class from the Frenkendorf primary school
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Solo mit Drehorgel
Lutz Grossmann (D)
16:00
/ FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
> INFOS
Streetperformance
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old
No language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
VERTE ET LES OISEAUX
Olga David-Rigot und Zoé Sjollema (CH)
17:00
/ THEATER ROXY BIRSFELDEN
> TICKET
> INFOS
Residential show
Duration: 20-30 min.
From 8 years of age
Little language: French
Somewhere in a forest, an old woman nurses an injured
dove, which teaches her to speak the language of birds.
Grandmother Earth teaches her granddaughter Grün, and the two humans
befriend the birds. But the birds in all
directions are concerned: Are humans about to
colonize the sky?
Pinar Selek’s wonderful ecological and feminist
initiation fairy tale Verte et les oiseaux is a story from
the sky, told from beak to beak. A
story of encounters and struggles, and a connection
to a fascinating world. Olga David-Rigot and Zoé
Sjollema have taken it up and adapted it for the stage,
combining bodies, objects, sounds, and live music.
They invite us to turn our ears toward the non-human
They invite us to listen to the non-human
world and to transform our fear of a world drifting apart
into a joyful struggle.
The residency showing will be followed by an audience discussion.
Credits
Text: Pinar Selek
Adaption & künstlerische Leitung: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Mit: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Outside Eye: Rita Belova Lazoukina
Musik und Sounddesign: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
In collaboration with Figurentheater Szene Schweiz (Swiss Puppet Theater Scene)
The BAFF! invites you to network and exchange ideas. Local,
national, and international artists, as well as interested visitors, have the opportunity to talk about their work, their visions, and possible synergies in a relaxed setting.
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Duration: 60 min.
Age: ages 14 and up
Language: English with German subtitles
Caution advised for people with celiac disease allergies!
In his performance «My Home at the Intersection», Abhishek Thapar, born in Moga, Punjab, reflects on dealing with a legacy of violent conflict and collective trauma. Together with his family, he embarks on a search for the truth about their past by returning to the house of their childhood—a place they thought they had forgotten, but which still exists.
In a final attempt to draw a line under their history, the family moves back into the house and creates a work of art that challenges the reduced perception of Punjab’s recent history. In the intimate atmosphere of his performance, Thapar reveals moments of a personal journey and addresses the complex dilemma of perpetrators and victims, as well as the dialogue between official history and personal memories. Through this creative process, an attempt is made to come to terms with the past and redefine one’s own identity in a context marked by conflict.
Credits:
Concept, Text, Performance: Abhishek Thapar
along with Venu Thapar, Shveta Grover and Ashok Thapar
Dramaturgical Support: Maria Rößler
Text Advice: Divya Nadkarni
Advisors: Floris van Delft and Jeroen Fabius
Cinematographer: Sahib Gill
Film Editing: Jeanette Groenendaal and Rinku Kalsy
Music Composition: Kabeer Kathpalia
German subtitles: Dòra Kapusta
Friday - 19.09.25
Evening play
Duration: 55 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: murmured, easily understandable English
«Now only an expert can deal with the problem, because half the problem is seeing the problem.» Laurie Anderson
The Belgian newspaper De Standaard called Maxim Storms “the Charlie Chaplin of his generation.” His play “Nuggets” is full of slapstick, absurd humor, and chatter. In a bizarre universe, a character feverishly digs through a mountain of building materials. She lovingly rummages through the pipes, cables, and plastic sheeting. She has to do something, that much is clear. But what? And why? The clownish character runs from one place to another, like a glitched character in a video game. What she doesn’t need now, she saves for later. Every now and then, a few words escape her. Otherwise, she is completely absorbed in her search for the right material. With grotesque acting, perfect timing, and a mustachioed poker face, Maxim creates a fragmented world in which a last soul tries to achieve an undefined goal.
«Maxim Storm’s solo is a gem. This is clowning at its finest. With more mastery than ever before.» **** De Morgen
Credits
Concept & spel: Maxim Storms
Coaching: Jan Steen & Lisbeth Gruwez
Licht: Geert Vanoorlé
Feedback: Linde Carrijn & Rachid Laachir
Co-productie: CAMPO, C-TAKT & De Grote Post
Spreiding: Vincent Company In samenwerking met c o r s o & kunstencentrum nona
Saturday - 20.09.25
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Sunday - 21.09.25
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Evening play
Duration: 55 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: murmured, easily understandable English
«Now only an expert can deal with the problem, because half the problem is seeing the problem.» Laurie Anderson
The Belgian newspaper De Standaard called Maxim Storms “the Charlie Chaplin of his generation.” His play “Nuggets” is full of slapstick, absurd humor, and chatter. In a bizarre universe, a character feverishly digs through a mountain of building materials. She lovingly rummages through the pipes, cables, and plastic sheeting. She has to do something, that much is clear. But what? And why? The clownish character runs from one place to another, like a glitched character in a video game. What she doesn’t need now, she saves for later. Every now and then, a few words escape her. Otherwise, she is completely absorbed in her search for the right material. With grotesque acting, perfect timing, and a mustachioed poker face, Maxim creates a fragmented world in which a last soul tries to achieve an undefined goal.
«Maxim Storm’s solo is a gem. This is clowning at its finest. With more mastery than ever before.» **** De Morgen
Credits
Concept & spel: Maxim Storms
Coaching: Jan Steen & Lisbeth Gruwez
Licht: Geert Vanoorlé
Feedback: Linde Carrijn & Rachid Laachir
Co-productie: CAMPO, C-TAKT & De Grote Post
Spreiding: Vincent Company In samenwerking met c o r s o & kunstencentrum nona
Cie Hopeful Monsters (GB)
Hopeful Monsters
Thursday - 11.09.25 // 10:30
// BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
COST PER SCHOOLCHILD: CHF 5 CHF FOR CLASSES FROM BS AND BL
Duration: 40 min.
From 6 years of age
No language
Hopeful Monsters is a piece of visual tabletop theater. From simple organisms to giant beasts, this is a story of evolution told entirely with the hands. Combining visual theater, an original soundtrack, and puppetry, Hopeful Monsters is a playful exploration of the fact that all living things are made up of the same basic building blocks. Constantly in motion and undergoing change, human hands move in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures on our journey through water, earth, and air. It is a story of survival and struggle, of connection and transformation. A reminder of the playfulness of life. After all, we humans are animals too.
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Ella Mackay, Eti Meacock, Bori Mezö
Satchie Noro & Élise Vigneron (F) & Cie Furinkaï & Théâtre de l’Entrouvert (F)
MIZU
Thursday - 11.09.25 // 19:00
// BIRSKÖPFLI
Opening piece
Duration: 50 min.
For young and old
No language
The venue is dependent on weather and flooding conditions. We will announce HERE at short notice whether we need to move to the Naturbad Riehen outdoor pool.
Mizu, which means water in Japanese (水), is a choreographic piece about a body of water, a landscape piece, a pas de trois, embodied by a dancer, an ice puppet, and her puppeteer.
The creative project Mizu is part of Élise’s ongoing explorations of ice over the past ten years. It continues the exploration of this material for two intertwined bodies of ice and flesh, balancing acts, lifts, counterweights, in the air, on the ground, and underwater.
In Mizu, on the tightrope between appearance and disappearance, Élise and Satchie want to celebrate transience, the fragility of existence as an ode to life, the fusion with the element that makes up our bodies: water, the transition from form to formlessness, from the individual to the cosmos.
Credits
Conception – direction: Satchie Noro et Elise Vigneron /
Cie Furinkaï et Théâtre de l’Entrouvert
With: Sarah Lascar (puppeteer), Satchie Noro (dancer)
Choreography: Satchie Noro
Puppet design – outside perspective: Elise Vigneron
Design and construction of scenographic: Silvain Ohl et Éric Noel
Puppet Construction: Vincent Debuire et Théo Nerestan
Textile design: Aurore Thibout
Music: Carlos Canales
Cie Hopeful Monsters (GB)
Hopeful Monsters
Friday - 12.09.25 // 09:00
// BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
COST PER SCHOOLCHILD: CHF 5 CHF FOR CLASSES FROM BS AND BL
Duration: 40 min.
From 6 years of age
No language
Hopeful Monsters is a piece of visual tabletop theater. From simple organisms to giant beasts, this is a story of evolution told entirely with the hands. Combining visual theater, an original soundtrack, and puppetry, Hopeful Monsters is a playful exploration of the fact that all living things are made up of the same basic building blocks. Constantly in motion and undergoing change, human hands move in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures on our journey through water, earth, and air. It is a story of survival and struggle, of connection and transformation. A reminder of the playfulness of life. After all, we humans are animals too.
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Ella Mackay, Eti Meacock, Bori Mezö
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Friday - 12.09.25 // 10:15
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
KMZ (D)
Kakao
Friday - 12.09.25 // 10:30
// VORSTADTTHEATER BASEL
For schools/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
COST PER SCHOOLCHILD: CHF 5 CHF FOR CLASSES FROM BS AND BL
Duration: 45 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: German
It is the sweet world of chocolate and its temptations that the KMZ Collective delves into with stories from their childhood in North and Central America. Full of playful joy, they guide the audience through the history of cocoa – from the time of the Maya to the present day. In doing so, they address both the enslavement of children on cocoa plantations and the manipulative tricks of the confectionery industry, and ask the question of whether there is a better and fairer way to sweet happiness.
In an interactive theater space with video and live music, cocoa touches us, appeals to our senses, and reveals the stories behind the beautiful and colorful packaging.
*Please note: During the performance, moderate to strong vibrations may occur due to the sound.
Credits:
Von und mit: Antonio Cerezo Daniela del Pomar, Yahima Piedra Córdova
Dramaturgische Beratung: Christofer Schmidt
Außenblick: Laia RiCa, Francisco Javier Rojas Trejo
Bühnenbild und Kostüme: María Reyes, Pérez Fernández
Inflatables: Alfredo Sciuto
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Friday - 12.09.25 // 14:00
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
School performance/family piece
Reservations for school classes at tickets@figurentheaterfestival.ch
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
KOLLEKTIV HOCHHINAUS (CH)
GUCKLER UND ÄUGLINGE
Friday - 12.09.25 // 15:00
- 19:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Installation and walk-in workshop
(collection)
For young and old
Gawkers, peepers, and onlookers populate the square. They are also reborn—built, glued, staged. They gaze, peer, look—obviously and also covertly—appearing and disappearing. You create them and find their place.
Participants can come and go as they please. The materials are ready, and so are we.
Credits
Spiel: Erika Gedeon, Sonja Greuter, Markus Hermann, Tobi Hobi, Muriel Reimers, Lukas Roth, Dani Schweiwiller, Stefan Schmidhofer
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Friday - 12.09.25 // 15:45
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Künstlerische Leitung: Gabriel Charlebois-Plante, Odile Gamache
Technische Leitung: Julien Boisvert
Schauspiel: Jérémie Desbiens, Maude Arès, Pénélope Dulude de Broin, Sarah Bengle
Regie: Emilie Martel
Licht: Julie Basse
Ton: Noam Rzewski
BLAU
short play evening
Friday - 12.09.25 // 19:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Meeting point: Münsterplatz Festival Center
Four plays in one ticket!
With Marius Alsleben, Lutz Grossmann, Matija Sole, and Company O Quel Hommage
O QUEL DOMMAGE COMPANY (BEL)
«Room Service»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
«Room Service» is a darkly humorous sketch show in fool mode that distorts the stereotypes of the mother-baby relationship and illuminates the unspoken fantasies and urges inherent in motherhood. The baby is a puppet with a human head and hands, creating an absurdly comical figure. Its helplessness in relation to the mother makes it touching and shows how deeply exhaustion destabilizes the mother. This number is based on the interaction between the characters, as well as visual illusion and a soundscape consisting of babbling and other poutou-poutous.
Credits
Schauspiel: Justine Moreau et Estelle Beugin
Text: Justine Moreau et Céline Pellin
Blick von Aussen: Clara Lopez, Francy Begasse
MATIJA SOLCE (SVN)
«Little Night Tales»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Language: Englisch
When night falls and the human world takes a moment to recover from its turmoil, a writer attempts to compose a short story. Tired, he falls asleep, and in his dreams, the objects around him and the characters he has imagined come to life. Stories and narratives intertwine between them. This puppet show is aimed at audiences of all ages and features puppets with original animation mechanisms.
Credits
Idee und Regie: Matija Solce
LUTZ GROSSMANN (D)
«Solo mit Drehorgel»
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
MARIUS ALSLEBEN (D)
«20 Liter O»
Dauer: 20 min.
Für Gross und Klein
Ohne Sprache
A performer and 35 plastic canisters come into contact and form a community that oscillates between living beings and objects. A choir emerges: they sing, tremble, and realign themselves. The performer is part of the system, a border crosser between control and instability. Everything begins to sway. A canister overflows. The last drop falls. What remains when the sound ends and the canisters become objects?
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Marius Alsleben
ROT
short play evening
Friday - 12.09.25 // 19:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Meeting point: Münsterplatz Festival Center
Four plays in one ticket!
With Marius Alsleben, Lutz Grossmann, Matija Sole, and Company O Quel Hommage
O QUEL DOMMAGE COMPANY (BEL)
«Room Service»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
«Room Service» is a darkly humorous sketch show in fool mode that distorts the stereotypes of the mother-baby relationship and illuminates the unspoken fantasies and urges inherent in motherhood. The baby is a puppet with a human head and hands, creating an absurdly comical figure. Its helplessness in relation to the mother makes it touching and shows how deeply exhaustion destabilizes the mother. This number is based on the interaction between the characters, as well as visual illusion and a soundscape consisting of babbling and other poutou-poutous.
Credits
Schauspiel: Justine Moreau et Estelle Beugin
Text: Justine Moreau et Céline Pellin
Blick von Aussen: Clara Lopez, Francy Begasse
MATIJA SOLCE (SVN)
«Little Night Tales»
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old alike
Language: Englisch
When night falls and the human world takes a moment to recover from its turmoil, a writer attempts to compose a short story. Tired, he falls asleep, and in his dreams, the objects around him and the characters he has imagined come to life. Stories and narratives intertwine between them. This puppet show is aimed at audiences of all ages and features puppets with original animation mechanisms.
Credits
Idee und Regie: Matija Solce
LUTZ GROSSMANN (D)
«Solo mit Drehorgel»
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
MARIUS ALSLEBEN (D)
«20 Liter O»
Duration: 20 min.
For young and old alike
Without language
A performer and 35 plastic canisters come into contact and form a community that oscillates between living beings and objects. A choir emerges: they sing, tremble, and realign themselves. The performer is part of the system, a border crosser between control and instability. Everything begins to sway. A canister overflows. The last drop falls. What remains when the sound ends and the canisters become objects?
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Marius Alsleben
Cie Hopeful Monsters (GB)
Hopeful Monsters
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 11:00
// BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
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TRAILER
Family theatre
Duration: 40 min.
From 6 years of age
No language
Hopeful Monsters is a piece of visual tabletop theater. From simple organisms to giant beasts, this is a story of evolution told entirely with the hands. Combining visual theater, an original soundtrack, and puppetry, Hopeful Monsters is a playful exploration of the fact that all living things are made up of the same basic building blocks. Constantly in motion and undergoing change, human hands move in unusual ways, creating unexpected creatures on our journey through water, earth, and air. It is a story of survival and struggle, of connection and transformation. A reminder of the playfulness of life. After all, we humans are animals too.
Credits
Idee und Spiel: Ella Mackay, Eti Meacock, Bori Mezö
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au Jardin du Pontiers
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 12:00
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
KOLLEKTIV HOCHHINAUS (CH)
GUCKLER UND ÄUGLINGE
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 13:00
- 18:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Installation and walk-in workshop
(collection)
For young and old
Gawkers, peepers, and onlookers populate the square. They are also reborn—built, glued, staged. They gaze, peer, look—obviously and also covertly—appearing and disappearing. You create them and find their place.
Participants can come and go as they please. The materials are ready, and so are we.
Credits
Spiel: Erika Gedeon, Sonja Greuter, Markus Hermann, Tobi Hobi, Muriel Reimers, Lukas Roth, Dani Schweiwiller, Stefan Schmidhofer
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 14:00
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Diana Ammann (CH)
Imaginary friends & creatures
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 14:00
- 17:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
>
TRAILER
Walking act with several creatures
collection
Duration: 3 h
No age rating
For young and old alike
They are shy, charming, flamboyant – and deeply human:
Diana Ammann’s Imaginary Friends & Creatures are beings beyond all categories.
They are a silent rebellion against the norm, an invitation to encounter, to pause, to be different.
With humor and idiosyncrasy, they encounter the everyday – and celebrate the beauty of connection and diversity with gentle anarchy.
Credits
Konzept, Umsetzung, Creature-Design: Diana Ammann
Creatures: Diana Ammann, Marcel Schwald, Beatrice Fleischlin
KMZ (D)
Kakao
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 15:30
// VORSTADTTHEATER BASEL
Family piece
Duration: 45 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: German
It is the sweet world of chocolate and its temptations that the KMZ Collective delves into with stories from their childhood in North and Central America. Full of playful joy, they guide the audience through the history of cocoa – from the time of the Maya to the present day. In doing so, they address both the enslavement of children on cocoa plantations and the manipulative tricks of the confectionery industry, and ask the question of whether there is a better and fairer way to sweet happiness.
In an interactive theater space with video and live music, cocoa touches us, appeals to our senses, and reveals the stories behind the beautiful and colorful packaging.
*Please note: During the performance, moderate to strong vibrations may occur due to the sound.
Credits:
Von und mit: Antonio Cerezo Daniela del Pomar, Yahima Piedra Córdova
Dramaturgische Beratung: Christofer Schmidt
Außenblick: Laia RiCa, Francisco Javier Rojas Trejo
Bühnenbild und Kostüme: María Reyes, Pérez Fernández
Inflatables: Alfredo Sciuto
O quel dommage Company (BEL)
Room Service
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 15:30
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Street performance
Duration: 30 min.
For young and old
Without language
«Room Service» is a darkly humorous sketch show in fool mode that distorts the stereotypes of the mother-baby relationship and illuminates the unspoken fantasies and urges inherent in motherhood. The baby is a puppet with a human head and hands, creating an absurdly comical character. Its helplessness in relation to its mother makes it touching and shows how deeply the mother’s exhaustion makes her unstable. This act is based on the interaction between the characters, as well as visual illusion and a soundscape consisting of babbling and other poutou-poutous.
Credits
Schauspiel: Justine Moreau et Estelle Beugin
Text: Justine Moreau et Céline Pellin
Blick von Aussen: Clara Lopez, Francy Begasse
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 15:45
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Lutz Grossmann (D)
Solo mit Drehorgel
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 16:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Streetperformance
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old
No language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
Annina Mosimann (CH)
Bestarium
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 17:00
// ALLGEMEINE LESEGESELLSCHAFT BASEL
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TICKET
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TRAILER
Streetperformance
Duration: 40 min.
From 5 years of age
Language: none
Feathers flutter, doors creak, dust swirls. In the kitchen, the teapot whistles away, secrets wait to be discovered in the attic, and rumblings can be heard deep down in the cellar. And somewhere in between, a chamber choir of carefree houseflies buzzes.
From fragments of figures, everyday objects, and the playfulness of the human body, an old transport crate is transformed into a scenic bestiary: a wooden dove, a blowfly, and a trembling spider jostle for the spotlight. Limbs, heads, and bodies are transformed into new, curious creatures. Inspired by dusty zoology books and classic variety shows, they sing us stories about living together in confined spaces.
An homage to the house and those who inhabit it.
Credits
Künstlerische Leitung/Dramaturgie: Annina Mosimann
Aussensicht: Lara Epp, Ariel Doron
Außenansicht Musik: Eric Tarantola
Beratung & künstlerische Mitarbeit Szenografie: Lukas Schneider
Dramaturgie: Petra Fischer
Produktionsbegleitung: Marius Kob
Produktionsleitung: Beat Ryser
Lichtgestaltung: Michael Murr
Video, Foto: Nikolaj Leu
Olga David-Rigot und Zoé Sjollema (CH)
VERTE ET LES OISEAUX
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 17:00
// THEATER ROXY BIRSFELDEN
Residential show
Duration: 20-30 min.
From 8 years of age
Little language: French
Somewhere in a forest, an old woman nurses an injured
dove, which teaches her to speak the language of birds.
Grandmother Earth teaches her granddaughter Grün, and the two humans
befriend the birds. But the birds in all
directions are concerned: Are humans about to
colonize the sky?
Pinar Selek’s wonderful ecological and feminist
initiation fairy tale Verte et les oiseaux is a story from
the sky, told from beak to beak. A
story of encounters and struggles, and a connection
to a fascinating world. Olga David-Rigot and Zoé
Sjollema have taken it up and adapted it for the stage,
combining bodies, objects, sounds, and live music.
They invite us to turn our ears toward the non-human
They invite us to listen to the non-human
world and to transform our fear of a world drifting apart
into a joyful struggle.
The residency showing will be followed by an audience discussion.
Credits
Text: Pinar Selek
Adaption & künstlerische Leitung: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Mit: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Outside Eye: Rita Belova Lazoukina
Musik und Sounddesign: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Matija Solce (SVN)
Harms Fault
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 19:00
// BASLER MARIONETTEN THEATER
Evening play
Duration: 55 min.
From 15 years of age
Language: English with German introduction
“An old woman fell out of the window because she was too curious. She fell and broke into pieces.” This opening draws the audience into the absurd world of Daniil Kharms.
In “Harms Fault,” Matija Solce combines puppetry, music, and situational comedy to portray the absurdity of life. The lively puppets and a complex orchestrion create a captivating atmosphere in which stories and sounds are interwoven. Kharms’ tragic fate as a victim of the repressive regime reinforces the deeper meaning of this performance.
Credits
Regie, Musik und Performance: Matija Solce
Set design: Larisa Kazić
Dramaturgie: Miha Razdrih
Sound design: Ivo Gregorec Sedláček
Set and props production: Matija Solce, Larisa Kazić, Martin Neduha, Ludek Sedlaž,
Ivo Gregorec Sedláček
Produktion: Teatro Matita
Coproduktion: MCLU Koper
Partner Ljubljana Puppet Theatre
Financial support: Ministry for Culture, Slovenia and City of Ljubljana
Gare Centrale (BEL)
Letters from My Father
Saturday - 13.09.25 // 21:00
// TANZHAUS BASEL
>
TICKET
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TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 75 min.
From 9 years of age
Language: English with German surtitles
In 1959, the Limbos family lived in the Congo, which was still a Belgian colony at the time. A year later, in the year of independence, the children were sent back to Belgium to live with their uncle, a pastor. For Agnès Limbos, who was eight years old at the time, this episode was traumatic.
During the period of separation, the father wrote 46 letters to his children. Little Agnès eagerly awaited each one. “Every time a letter arrived, our uncle would sit down with us in the two large leather armchairs and solemnly read it to us. The 70-year-old woman I have become now wishes to have a conversation with that young girl.” (Agnès Limbos)
The master of object theater opens up a narrative space in which biographical and historical pasts resonate with each other—as intimate as they are universal.
Credits
Konzept, Text, Spiel: Agnès Limbos
Outer Eye/Dramaturgie: Olivia Stainier
Künstlerische Begleitung: Sabine Durand
Lichtdesign: Nicolas Thill
Sounddesign: Pierre Kissling
Kostüme: Françoise Colpé
Szenographie: Val Macé, Joël Bosmans
Choreographie: Nicole Mossoux
Outer Eye, Schauspiel: Bénédicte Liénard
Zusammenarbeit Puppenbau: Natacha Belova und Marta Pereira
Perücke (Puppe): Daphnée Beaulieux
Konstruktion der Objekte: Joachim Jannin
Intime Maquetten: Pablo Gershanik
Beratung Puppenspiel: Neville Tranter
Technik: Nicolas Thill, Antoine Vanagt alt. John Cooper
Inspizient: Joël Bosmans
Englische Übersetzung: Astrid Howard
Profiworkshop mit KMZ
Roots Revealed: A Workshop on the gaze of memory
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 10:00
- 16:00
// THEATER BASEL
NUR FÜR PROFIS UND INTERESSIERTE LAIEN
In this imaginative and intimate workshop, participants embark on a journey of autobiographical storytelling through the lens of multimedia and object/material performance theater. Using cherished family photos as a starting point, each participant will weave personal narratives that celebrate memory, identity, and transformation.
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 12:00
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Annina Mosimann (CH)
Bestarium
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 13:00
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
Streetperformance
Duration: 40 min.
From 5 years of age
Language: none
Feathers flutter, doors creak, dust swirls. In the kitchen, the teapot whistles away, secrets wait to be discovered in the attic, and rumblings can be heard deep down in the cellar. And somewhere in between, a chamber choir of carefree houseflies buzzes.
From fragments of figures, everyday objects, and the playfulness of the human body, an old transport crate is transformed into a scenic bestiary: a wooden dove, a blowfly, and a trembling spider jostle for the spotlight. Limbs, heads, and bodies are transformed into new, curious creatures. Inspired by dusty zoology books and classic variety shows, they sing us stories about living together in confined spaces.
An homage to the house and those who inhabit it.
Credits
Künstlerische Leitung/Dramaturgie: Annina Mosimann
Aussensicht: Lara Epp, Ariel Doron
Außenansicht Musik: Eric Tarantola
Beratung & künstlerische Mitarbeit Szenografie: Lukas Schneider
Dramaturgie: Petra Fischer
Produktionsbegleitung: Marius Kob
Produktionsleitung: Beat Ryser
Lichtgestaltung: Michael Murr
Video, Foto: Nikolaj Leu
KOLLEKTIV HOCHHINAUS (CH)
GUCKLER UND ÄUGLINGE
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 13:00
- 18:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Installation and walk-in workshop
(collection)
For young and old
Gawkers, peepers, and onlookers populate the square. They are also reborn—built, glued, staged. They gaze, peer, look—obviously and also covertly—appearing and disappearing. You create them and find their place.
Participants can come and go as they please. The materials are ready, and so are we.
Credits
Spiel: Erika Gedeon, Sonja Greuter, Markus Hermann, Tobi Hobi, Muriel Reimers, Lukas Roth, Dani Schweiwiller, Stefan Schmidhofer
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 14:00
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Diana Ammann (CH)
Imaginary friends & creatures
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 14:00
- 17:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
>
TRAILER
Walking act with several creatures
collection
Duration: 3 h
No age rating
For young and old alike
They are shy, charming, flamboyant – and deeply human:
Diana Ammann’s Imaginary Friends & Creatures are beings beyond all categories.
They are a silent rebellion against the norm, an invitation to encounter, to pause, to be different.
With humor and idiosyncrasy, they encounter the everyday – and celebrate the beauty of connection and diversity with gentle anarchy.
Credits
Konzept, Umsetzung, Creature-Design: Diana Ammann
Creatures: Diana Ammann, Marcel Schwald, Beatrice Fleischlin
OPEN STAGE
Amateurs & Pros
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 14:00
Duration per performance: 5-15 min.
Duration of Open Stage: ca. 30 min.
Language: freely selectable
Registration: produktion@figurentheaterfestival.ch, subject line «Open Stage»
BAFF! invites you onto its stage: present your own performance on a topic of your choice in front of Basel’s largest audience. Whether you’re a pro or a greenhorn, everyone is celebrated on Münsterplatz. Register in advance by email or just drop by spontaneously. You can register for one of the free stage slots in our information bus on Münsterplatz.
Abhishek Thapar (IND)
My Home at the Intersection
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 15:00
// VORSTADTTHEATER BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Duration: 60 min.
Age: ages 14 and up
Language: English with German subtitles
Caution advised for people with celiac disease allergies!
In his performance «My Home at the Intersection», Abhishek Thapar, born in Moga, Punjab, reflects on dealing with a legacy of violent conflict and collective trauma. Together with his family, he embarks on a search for the truth about their past by returning to the house of their childhood—a place they thought they had forgotten, but which still exists.
In a final attempt to draw a line under their history, the family moves back into the house and creates a work of art that challenges the reduced perception of Punjab’s recent history. In the intimate atmosphere of his performance, Thapar reveals moments of a personal journey and addresses the complex dilemma of perpetrators and victims, as well as the dialogue between official history and personal memories. Through this creative process, an attempt is made to come to terms with the past and redefine one’s own identity in a context marked by conflict.
Credits:
Concept, Text, Performance: Abhishek Thapar
along with Venu Thapar, Shveta Grover and Ashok Thapar
Dramaturgical Support: Maria Rößler
Text Advice: Divya Nadkarni
Advisors: Floris van Delft and Jeroen Fabius
Cinematographer: Sahib Gill
Film Editing: Jeanette Groenendaal and Rinku Kalsy
Music Composition: Kabeer Kathpalia
German subtitles: Dòra Kapusta
Education Project (CH)
The shark in the bathtub
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 15:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Family theatre
Duratioin: 20-30 min.
For young and old alike
Language: German
Children who play occasionally lose themselves in a world full of magic, with supernatural abilities, eerie encounters, and mysterious tasks.
They become heroes of their own stories. Sometimes their previous life experiences play a major role, sometimes play and dreams become reality. The children glitch into different matrices, sometimes becoming characters in a comic, sometimes expedition leaders in mysterious places, floating creatures in the river of life, and slipping through a wormhole back into everyday life, where there is dinner, getting up early, homework, and those unspeakably tempting things like smartphones and tablets.”
In cooperation with the teamKURT association and a class from the Frenkendorf primary school
Cie Ersatz (F)
Au jardin des potiniers
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 15:45
// MUSEUM DER KULTUREN BASEL
Family theater
Duration: 50 min.
From the age of 7
No language
An innovative exhibition invites visitors to immerse themselves in a fictional botanical world and blur the boundaries between viewer and artwork. The audience positions itself in a creative landscape in which the body remains hidden beneath a model landscape. This miniature world creates intimacy between visitors and art.
The immersive show focuses on the cyclical development of a garden suffering from drought and encourages active participation.
The dramatic storyline about the birth and survival of fictional plants takes center stage and invites visitors to engage with nature in a poetic way.
Credits
Production, création: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Avec: Camille Panza, Léonard Cornevin, Noam Rzewski, Pierre Mercier, Giuseppe Della Trumba, François Gillerot
Produktion, Konzept: Ersatz & Création dans la Chambre
Lutz Grossmann (D)
Solo mit Drehorgel
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 16:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
Streetperformance
Duration: 25 min.
For young and old
No language
Using the possibilities and limitations of a barrel organ, Lutz Großmann performs a mini musical theater piece that explores the tension between tradition and improvisation. Without words, in a limited space, using small figures, he asks the big question of whether we humans can make a difference “solo,” that is, on our own.
Credits
Regie: Alvaro Schoeck
Puppen: Charlotte Waltert
Spiel: Lutz Großmann
Eine Koproduktion mit der Brotfabrik Bühne Bonn
Olga David-Rigot und Zoé Sjollema (CH)
VERTE ET LES OISEAUX
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 17:00
// THEATER ROXY BIRSFELDEN
Residential show
Duration: 20-30 min.
From 8 years of age
Little language: French
Somewhere in a forest, an old woman nurses an injured
dove, which teaches her to speak the language of birds.
Grandmother Earth teaches her granddaughter Grün, and the two humans
befriend the birds. But the birds in all
directions are concerned: Are humans about to
colonize the sky?
Pinar Selek’s wonderful ecological and feminist
initiation fairy tale Verte et les oiseaux is a story from
the sky, told from beak to beak. A
story of encounters and struggles, and a connection
to a fascinating world. Olga David-Rigot and Zoé
Sjollema have taken it up and adapted it for the stage,
combining bodies, objects, sounds, and live music.
They invite us to turn our ears toward the non-human
They invite us to listen to the non-human
world and to transform our fear of a world drifting apart
into a joyful struggle.
The residency showing will be followed by an audience discussion.
Credits
Text: Pinar Selek
Adaption & künstlerische Leitung: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Mit: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Outside Eye: Rita Belova Lazoukina
Musik und Sounddesign: Olga David-Rigot & Zoé Sjollema
Runder Tisch
Austausch
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 17:00
// FESTIVALZENTRUM MÜNSTERPLATZ
In collaboration with Figurentheater Szene Schweiz (Swiss Puppet Theater Scene)
The BAFF! invites you to network and exchange ideas. Local,
national, and international artists, as well as interested visitors, have the opportunity to talk about their work, their visions, and possible synergies in a relaxed setting.
Abhishek Thapar (IND)
My Home at the Intersection
Sunday - 14.09.25 // 19:00
// VORSTADTTHEATER BASEL
INTRO SPOKEN BY ELISA DA COSTA
Duration: 60 min.
Age: ages 14 and up
Language: English with German subtitles
Caution advised for people with celiac disease allergies!
In his performance «My Home at the Intersection», Abhishek Thapar, born in Moga, Punjab, reflects on dealing with a legacy of violent conflict and collective trauma. Together with his family, he embarks on a search for the truth about their past by returning to the house of their childhood—a place they thought they had forgotten, but which still exists.
In a final attempt to draw a line under their history, the family moves back into the house and creates a work of art that challenges the reduced perception of Punjab’s recent history. In the intimate atmosphere of his performance, Thapar reveals moments of a personal journey and addresses the complex dilemma of perpetrators and victims, as well as the dialogue between official history and personal memories. Through this creative process, an attempt is made to come to terms with the past and redefine one’s own identity in a context marked by conflict.
Credits:
Concept, Text, Performance: Abhishek Thapar
along with Venu Thapar, Shveta Grover and Ashok Thapar
Dramaturgical Support: Maria Rößler
Text Advice: Divya Nadkarni
Advisors: Floris van Delft and Jeroen Fabius
Cinematographer: Sahib Gill
Film Editing: Jeanette Groenendaal and Rinku Kalsy
Music Composition: Kabeer Kathpalia
German subtitles: Dòra Kapusta
Maxim Storms (NL)
Nuggets
Friday - 19.09.25 // 20:00
// KASERNE BASEL
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TICKET
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TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 55 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: murmured, easily understandable English
«Now only an expert can deal with the problem, because half the problem is seeing the problem.» Laurie Anderson
The Belgian newspaper De Standaard called Maxim Storms “the Charlie Chaplin of his generation.” His play “Nuggets” is full of slapstick, absurd humor, and chatter. In a bizarre universe, a character feverishly digs through a mountain of building materials. She lovingly rummages through the pipes, cables, and plastic sheeting. She has to do something, that much is clear. But what? And why? The clownish character runs from one place to another, like a glitched character in a video game. What she doesn’t need now, she saves for later. Every now and then, a few words escape her. Otherwise, she is completely absorbed in her search for the right material. With grotesque acting, perfect timing, and a mustachioed poker face, Maxim creates a fragmented world in which a last soul tries to achieve an undefined goal.
«Maxim Storm’s solo is a gem. This is clowning at its finest. With more mastery than ever before.» **** De Morgen
Credits
Concept & spel: Maxim Storms
Coaching: Jan Steen & Lisbeth Gruwez
Licht: Geert Vanoorlé
Feedback: Linde Carrijn & Rachid Laachir
Co-productie: CAMPO, C-TAKT & De Grote Post
Spreiding: Vincent Company In samenwerking met c o r s o & kunstencentrum nona
Ugo Dehaes (BEL)
Moving Skin
Saturday - 20.09.25 // 18:00
// KASERNE BASEL
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TICKET
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TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Ugo Dehaes (BEL)
Moving Skin
Saturday - 20.09.25 // 20:00
// KASERNE BASEL
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Ugo Dehaes (BEL)
Moving Skin
Sunday - 21.09.25 // 14:00
// KASERNE BASEL
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Ugo Dehaes (BEL)
Moving Skin
Sunday - 21.09.25 // 16:00
// KASERNE BASEL
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 50 min.
From 7 years of age
Language: English with German translation
All kinds of strange machines are standing on a large table. The audience can view them up close. They are cobbled-together robots that look like parts of the human body. You can see muscles, parts of a skeleton, and even skin spots. They seem a little eerie, but that feeling disappears as soon as they start moving. Then it’s as if they are dancing independently of each other. Each in its own way: one graceful, the other wild or crazy. In dance, each robot becomes a living being with its own character.
Flemish choreographer Ugo Dehaes initially staged performances with dancers, studied at the P.A.R.T.S. dance school, and danced for Meg Stuart’s company. Since he also likes technical inventions, he began to work with robots. Since 2018, he has been a “choreographer of things,” has created performances with various types of robots, and is looking for ways to make them dance. Since 2018, he has been staging performances with all kinds of mobile robots, including for children.
Credits
A performance by Ugo Dehaes
Music Wannes Deneer
Video Gertjan Biasino
Dramaturgy Marie Peeters
Table Hartwood (Helder Steemans), designed by Wannes Deneer
Production Bad Blood
Co-production HET LAB, Perpodium
In collaboration with Krokusfestival, TOF Théâtre
Distribution Goed bedrijf
With the support of the Flemish government, VGC, the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government
Bad Blood is structurally supported by VGC
Maxim Storms (NL)
Nuggets
Sunday - 21.09.25 // 18:00
// KASERNE BASEL
>
TICKET
>
TRAILER
Evening play
Duration: 55 min.
From 8 years of age
Language: murmured, easily understandable English
«Now only an expert can deal with the problem, because half the problem is seeing the problem.» Laurie Anderson
The Belgian newspaper De Standaard called Maxim Storms “the Charlie Chaplin of his generation.” His play “Nuggets” is full of slapstick, absurd humor, and chatter. In a bizarre universe, a character feverishly digs through a mountain of building materials. She lovingly rummages through the pipes, cables, and plastic sheeting. She has to do something, that much is clear. But what? And why? The clownish character runs from one place to another, like a glitched character in a video game. What she doesn’t need now, she saves for later. Every now and then, a few words escape her. Otherwise, she is completely absorbed in her search for the right material. With grotesque acting, perfect timing, and a mustachioed poker face, Maxim creates a fragmented world in which a last soul tries to achieve an undefined goal.
«Maxim Storm’s solo is a gem. This is clowning at its finest. With more mastery than ever before.» **** De Morgen
Credits
Concept & spel: Maxim Storms
Coaching: Jan Steen & Lisbeth Gruwez
Licht: Geert Vanoorlé
Feedback: Linde Carrijn & Rachid Laachir
Co-productie: CAMPO, C-TAKT & De Grote Post
Spreiding: Vincent Company In samenwerking met c o r s o & kunstencentrum nona