Fremde Seelen

“High up on the mountain lay the old chalet / The snow and the rocks / They had united to tear it away / High up on the mountain lay the old chalet / High up on the mountain, when John came to the chalet, / Weeping with all his heart / On the ruins of his happiness.”
(From: Le Vieux Chalet, Joseph Bovet, 1911)


More than twenty years ago, a Vietnamese pastor committed suicide - just three years after taking up his post in a small parish in the Swiss Alps.

His death raises questions.

Swiss dramaturge and director Eva-Maria Bertschy researches local and global history with a transnational team. In the field of tension between family history, questions of faith, migration, racism and cultural identity, they weave a multi-layered narrative on stage that speculates about the priest's biography and at the same time explores their own points of contact and experiences of being and feeling foreign.

The research is condensed into a sensitive, empathetic text that also allows the gaps in the story to be heard between the lines. In Ersan Mondtag's symbolic and atmospheric stage design, through multilingual dialog and thanks to the music of Congolese artist Kojack Kossakamvwe, the play builds a bridge between past and present, between local tradition and the global interweaving of destinies.


Language In German & French (with French & German subtitles)
Suitable for people aged 14 and over
Duration 90 minutes

Concept, text, staging Eva-Maria Bertschy
Performance Carol Schuler, Kojack Kossakamvwe
With CoroVivo Flying Singers - Patric Ricklin (dir.) and singers
With a song sung by Lan Franière
Costumes and stage design Ersan Mondtag
Assistant stage and costumes Lorenz Stöger
Musical direction, composition Kojack Kossakamvwe
Lighting design Sylvain Faye
Sound design Fabien Lauton
Outside eye & dramaturgical support Julia Reichert
Hospitation Daria Thüringer and Linda Gwendolyna
Tour management Camille Jamet, HerProduction
Translation Katia Flouest-Sell

Thanks to everyone who shared this story and their experiences with us.

With songs by Joseph Bovet, Kojack Kossakamvwe, Xuân Khài Huyèn and Ngoc Khánh.
With quotations from Paul Celan, Hannah Arendt, Birago Diop, Rainer Maria Rilke, Jean Améry, Doan Van Toai and James Baldwin.

A production by Theater Neumarkt and Vorarlberger Landestheater, in co-production with Belluard Bollwerk International and euro-scene Leipzig

The set and costumes were created in the workshops of Theater Neumarkt and Vorarlberger Landestheater.

The play was developed with the support of the Gwaertler Foundation.

Supported by: Marie Schindler Foundation, Südkulturfonds, cultural grant from the Canton of Fribourg and Pro Helvetia.