BIRTH RIGHT

The only thing that everyone, absolutely everyone in the world, has experienced is their own birth. But then we don't even remember it! What remains from that moment are all the attributions that happen right then. This is where the most important decisions are made, not by nature, but by society, which categorises and labels us as soon as we’re here. The child has barely popped out, has neither harmed anyone nor merited anything, but it’s immediately showered with opportunities, expectations, privileges and. And then we spend the rest of our life dealing with that all.

«It's a...» is usually the first complete sentence spoken as soon as a little human is born. And then later, to friends and family, a laughing: «Well, at least it has ten fingers and ten toes.» Both are not statements, but declarations about what a future life should look like. And not to mention all the unspoken statements about a child's class or skin tone, and not least of course where in the world the child is born, which can all have an equally crushing effect.

The little baby cannot defend itself against all this. But what happens to all these attributions later when a person becomes self-aware? How do we deal with what our families, our environment, the world has planned for us? This is what the productions we have invited this year are about, from very different perspectives. We are happy about every single one that comes to Bern and hopefully triggers many good discussions here.

The best place for these discussions is undoubtedly the Festival Centre at Grosse Halle of the Reitschule Bern. A gigantic scenography by Ortreport will embrace the bar and restaurant, several installations and events, including Les Thermes, our wellness offer of a special kind, which is also the perfect setting for a chat.

For those who are newer to the realm of theatre or simply or would just rather not go alone, we have the brand new aua package tour. Five evenings at the festival with lots of extras booked in just one click! It really couldn't be any simpler.

But we are also here for individual travellers! We’re happy to advise you on your personal aua tour; by telephone, at our ticket counter or with an after-work drink at one of our consultation appointments.

Whether individually or in a group, we look forward to your visit!

Your aua team