Multilingual Stage Adaptation of Adelheid Duvanel Hits Geneva

Swiss directors Eleonore Bonah and Maria Clara Castioni are staging the surreal literary works of Basel writer Adelheid Duvanel in a multilingual theatrical production titled Chrüsimüsi, running at the Comédie de Genève through November 8, 2026, rts.ch reported.

The production transforms Duvanel’s compact and eccentric prose into a series of sketches and vignettes performed in German, French, and Italian. According to rts.ch, the staging features performers Luna Desmeules, Jeanne Devos, and Léo Zagagnoni alongside musical accompaniments by Rudy Decelière.

Staging the Margins in Three Languages

Duvanel’s writing explores ordinary life from the perspective of society’s margins, presenting distorted realities through surreal anecdotes and character portraits. Active from 1980 until her death in 1996, the author passed away from hypothermia in July in a forest above Liestal following struggles with medication, drug addiction, and a fragile psychological state, rts.ch noted.

The theatrical adaptation draws on this dark, whimsical aesthetic to create what rts.ch described as a miniature Babel of misunderstandings and deadpan humor. Co-directors Bonah and Castioni developed the project as graduates of the Manufacture theater school, connecting three linguistic regions and multiple Swiss stages.

Recent Cultural Resurgence

Interest in Duvanel’s work has grown in recent years following the publication of her complete texts in three volumes by Limmat Verlag. Cultural institutions have also highlighted her visual art through exhibitions at the Open Art Museum in St. Gallen, while French translator Catherine Fagnot has championed her literary revival through editions published by Vies Parallèles and José Corti, as reported by rts.ch.

Following its run in Geneva, Chrüsimüsi is scheduled to travel to the StadtTheater-Bühnen Bern for performances on November 21 and 22, as well as December 28 and 30, 2026. A roundtable discussion regarding Duvanel’s literary and pictorial output is planned at La Comédie de Genève following the performance on October 30.