«Walwerdung»

A musical-theatrical evening about becoming a mother and longing for the gentle giants of the seas. While a new human being grows inside her belly, a woman transforms herself into a whale.
Performers Iris Keller and Rosanna Zünd immerse the hydrophone in the aquarium and interweave text with live music. In this soundscape, the protagonist's thoughts unfold alongside a giant humpback whale fin. Between whale song, the pain of childbirth and the whirring of the breast pump, Walwerdung tells a story of physical change, vulnerability and feminist anger with lightness and depth – and asks how parenthood can be conceived in a world that is falling out of balance.

Press reviews of the novel:

««Walwerdung» is a powerful piece of liberation literature. The author dispels idealised notions of motherhood. Drastic, intense, uncompromising. Keller's novel reminds us how small and insignificant we really are in this vast, precious whole.» – Anna Wegelin, BZ

«Through her pregnancy, the protagonist finds a kindred spirit in whales. Whales are everywhere; this also hints at the absolute nature of pregnancy, which takes over everything that the protagonist was before. But Keller does not leave us feeling hopeless; on the contrary, she ends with the prospect of development.» – Elodie Kolb, WOZ

«Iris Keller elegantly intertwines the various levels, demonstrating her keen sense of timing. Her descriptions, for example of childbirth, are dramatic and unvarnished. And that is precisely why they are worth reading.» – Aneta Ledniowska-Schmidt, Keystone-SDA

With

Iris Keller (Performance); Rosanna Zünd (Live Music); Xenia Wiener (Composition); Ruth Huber (Director); Fabian Argano (Technology/Light Design); Oliver Klauser (Scenography); Eva Butzkies (Costume Consultation)

Program

Iris Keller (*1988): Roman «Walwerdung» (2025) Geparden Verlag Zürich
Xenia Wiener (*1991): Original Composition

Info

Trigger warning: A birth process with complications is described in detail.

The concert will be followed by an audience discussion.

Duration

70 minutes, no break

Prices

CHF 35.-/25.-/15.- (free choice at the box office or in advance)
Free admission applies to persons with residence permit N, F or S. / CHF 5.- students of the Hochschule für Musik FHNW and the Musicology Seminar of the University of Basel / CHF 10.- members Colourkey, KulturLegi and children under 12 years.

Links

→ iriskeller.org
→ xenia.audio
→ ruthhuber.ch
→ rosannazuend.com