What’s going on with you, Denise Wintsch?

Denise Wintsch’s theatre work is wild, Dadaist and always musical. Her humour is absurd, partly because it sounds so good. Her language is usually ‘a bit over the top’ and brims with poetry. She performs regularly at the Rote Fabrik, but also takes her ‘Puzzletisch’ to festivals from time to time. There, you’re welcome to join her. What music does Denise Wintsch listen to in different situations? A peek at her playlist.

Situation 1: Final rehearsals for your new play are underway at the Rote Fabrik. The cast are at each other’s throats in costumes that are far too tight – and this is just one day before the premiere. Still, the breaks spent on the more picturesque shore of Lake Zurich give cause for hope. What music do you have with you?

Situation 2: Production is over, the adrenaline is wearing off, but the euphoria lingers. Everything’s going to be fine now! Your passion is ignited. You hire the entrance hall of a major bank on Paradeplatz and go dancing. Which hit track do you have with you?

Situation 3: Your childhood dream job has come true: for one day, you’re the grill chef at the world’s best burger joint: the Silberkugel. It’s 12 noon, and you’re serving up juicy Silberbeefys to hungry white-collar workers, all of whom are here to please you. What music is playing in the background?

Situation 4: After a long break, you return to the rehearsal room and set about working on your new solo piece. It’s meant to be Dadaist, poetic and apocalyptic all at once. What sort of music inspires you?

Situation 5: Today you’re feeling sentimental. You’re thinking back on your childhood and your religious upbringing. You realise that you’re not quite done with Christianity yet, and decide to write a New Testament for humanity. Which soundtrack will accompany it?

Situation 6: Having finished that, you turn your attention to another new passion of yours: doing jigsaw puzzles in public. Your wishes have been granted. Zurich’s new mayor has declared a city-wide ‘Puzzle Day’. Once a year, all Zurich residents gather at Sächsilüüteplatz to piece together cardboard puzzle pieces. A band is playing on the balcony of the Opera House. Which one?

Situation 7: That’s it, the world is saved. You take off in your Raumpatrouille Wintsch and leave Earth, heading out into the universe. Greater missions now await you. You look back one last time and send humanity a message in the form of a song, intended to protect them from further calamity for ever.

Denise Wintsch is a theatre maker and artist from Zurich. She searches the depths of the human soul for what is meaningful and what is nonsensical. Her language is vivid, wild, musical and poetic. She is a passionate collector and creates objects, videos, photographic works, collages and stage sets from finds in second-hand shops. Her performances and exhibitions are often exuberantly joyful happenings. As a child, Denise Wintsch wanted to be a barbecue chef at the Silberkugel. Since 2014, she has been co-producing with the Fabriktheater Rote Fabrik in Zurich. From 14 to 30 August, she’ll be putting things together in public once again – this time at Theater Spektakel.