My first time ... Theatre in Winterthur

First of all, I make my way to the Kellertheater. This is a small theatre in a vaulted cellar and is somewhat hidden in the old town of Winterthur. The beautiful, open space has everything a theatre needs: Entrance, box office, bar, audience area and stage. Seating is free, so I take the only free seat in the front row. The stage is at ground level and lies directly in front of me, part of it shielded by two wooden walls. It is the stage set for the play "Stein sein", which is being shown until 24 March. It is about the strange research carried out by a research team in an unknown place. Everyone in the team has an eye for the small, beautiful things. An enthusiasm for the wonders of nature, an obsession with explaining the world and teaching a stone to speak. The play is interwoven with experimental guitar sounds and the clicking of the keyboard, which writes long sentences on the screen. It all works wonderfully in this small room, where we are all so close together and float in this cosmos for an hour and a half.

When I arrive at the Winterthur Theatre, it is already dusk, but the imposing building is already visible from afar and brightly lit. After collecting my ticket from the box office, I stroll through the large foyer to get an overview of the many entrances to the auditorium. After a quick visit to the toilets and cloakroom, the tall doors to the stage open. Inside, the stand surprises me with green chairs, not the red ones you often see in traditional theatres. The front rows gradually fill up while the actors are already sitting on the stage or walking around. The play "The Caucasian Chalk Circle" is performed by five actors from the Hora Theatre and the musician Minhye Ko. They are all introduced to us at the beginning, as are the roles they play. The classic theatre piece was beautifully interwoven with the stories of the people on stage, accompanied by loud drum beats, soft xylophone sounds and a constantly moving stage set.

Both theatres touched me with their closeness and special stories and made my first visit to the theatre in Winterthur unforgettable. So it's well worth venturing out of the city of Zurich and visiting both the Kellertheater and the Winterthur Theatre.