October 09 | 14.30 + 15.30 + 17.00 + 18.00 h
START: SOPHIENSÆLE COURTYARD
Soya the Cow is a gender- and species-fluid drag cow. On your walk as an unusual, strolling animal-human duo, you consciously direct your attention to the presence of non-human bodies: dogs that lead their humans on walks. Pigeons that have appropriated a monument as a toilet. Body parts of killed animals that are carried through the streets as food or clothing by people. Soya the Cow invites you to take a walk that challenges your viewing habits and your self-image.
In times of a pandemic, joint walks are very high in popularity. For weeks in spring, they were the only way to experience the public together. At the same time, distance and fresh air keep the risk of infection as low as possible. And yet every encounter also involves risks. It can create understanding, warmth and intimacy, but sometimes also incomprehension and conflict. Encounters can lead to both closeness and distance.
During the festival, we invite artists and audiences to encounter each other on 1:1 walks, thus offering all those who are not yet drawn back to the theatre spaces with the opportunity for an immediate exchange. What drives us? In times of physical distancing, the dialogue with an unknown opens new perspectives on our relationships.
NOTICE The walks take place as one-to-one encounters between artist and spectator. If the minimum distance of 1.5 meters cannot be kept, a face mask is obligatory.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
The walk takes between 20 and 30 minutes. Most of the approximately 1.5 km long route is done on foot. Most of the time you will be walking, sometimes standing. It is possible to take one or more sitting breaks. You can choose between German, English, French and Italian spoken language. If the minimum distance of 1.5 meters cannot be kept, a face mask is obligatory. If you have any questions or require further information, please contact Gina Jeske at or 030 29 87 00 35.
Daniel Hellmann is a singer, performer, dance and theater artist from Zurich. He studied philosophy, classical singing and theater/performance and has been developing his own artistic and award-winning works since 2012. Hellmann sees his artistic practice as a form of intersectional activism. His projects examine the body, body relations and desire, and question social norms and power relations in the fields of sexuality, human and animal rights. He was awarded the June Johnson Dance Prize for his music-theatre performance Requiem for a piece of meat (2017) and invited to the Swiss Dance Days 2019. With his alter ego Soya the Cow – a sex-positive, feminist, vegan drag cow, he also performs in theaters, discussion groups and nightclubs and is currently recording his first music album. Finally, since 2018 Hellmann has curated the performing arts for the interdisciplinary gender & sexuality festival LA FÊTE DU SLIP in Lausanne.
WITH Daniel Hellman as Soya the Cow
In Walking Distance is made possible with the support of the Capital Cultural Fund. Media partner: taz. die tageszeitung.