Ministry for the Future

We join underground networks, both social and biological. The Ministry achieved important successes, but political tensions between the carbon lobby and eco-activists still escalate around the central question: Which ends justify which means? Minister Yram ends up in the middle of it all. But the true protagonist is the 2nd largest carbon recycler and great ally against the climate crisis: Mycorrhizal fungal networks. What does it mean to lose a species? The minister calls for a basic orientation. Of all the worrisome developments related to climate change, biodiversity loss is by far the most irreversible. Therefore, protection should be non-negotiable. But not every species has the same lobby. Charismatic megafauna and over-ground life have caught the public attention in the last century and conservation efforts were mobilized. But what about the hidden agents? How do we protect what we don't see, and still hardly know? Some call them the coral reefs of the soil, others speak of underground rainforests: Soil and the mycorrhizal fungal networks within contain unimaginable biodiversity, in fascinating systemic collaboration with entire ecosystems. Plants feed the fungal networks carbon in exchange for other nutrients—making the mycorrhizal networks central carbon recyclers. But fractures in the fungi are appearing. Farming practices, habitat destruction, extreme temperature: All threaten mass underground extinctions. Do fungi have a lobby, and if not: do they need one? What about Algae? Bacteria? What can politics do for fungi? Must we rethink farming and develop a new agroecology? Should forests be engineered—or even put on life support? What if fungi are granted the same conservation status as animals? A hearing on behalf of invisible and unknown diversity.


When March 28, 7 pm 
Where Central, in front of the Polybahn station next to the fountain 
Duration Approx. 2h
Language English

With Dr. Dennis Hansen (UZH Natural History Museum), Marionna Schlatter (Mushroom inspector, and Vice-President of the Green Party Switzerland), and other guests

Concept Yael Borofsky, Georgia Drew, Charlotte Müller, Eneas N. Prawdzic, Julia Reichert, Sascha Ö. Soydan, Linus Truninger and Mario Wimmer 
Production Design Birke Beyer, Bettina Bessenyei, Juhee Han, Emily Hugger, Luca Ihns, Josephine Leicht, Ewa Wasilewska, Verena Zenker, and students of the HfG Karlsruhe (lead by Prof. Constanze Fischbeck) 
Dramaturgy Julia Reichert and Eneas N. Prawdzic (Proberaum Zukunft) 
Production Assistance Linus Truninger

A Cooperation between Collegium Helveticum, Hochschule für Gestaltung Karlsruhe, proberaum zukunft and Theater Neumarkt Zürich