Was ist das Kind so schön

Kunstmuseum Basel | Neubau, Event foyer, 7 p.m.
In German and English

Play with motifs by the Brothers Grimm.
Musical performance as part of the exhibition “Power Games” about Paula Rego.

Friday, November 29, 2024 (premiere)
Saturday, November 30, 2024
Friday, December 6, 2024
Saturday, December 7, 2024
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Saturday, December 14, 2024

Opening box office: 6.30 p.m.
Admission: from 6.45 p.m.

In cooperation with Theater Basel. Tickets via Theater Basel.

Fairytale Crime Scene

Naive princesses, devious stepmothers, wicked witches – female fairy tale stereotypes are deeply rooted in our social memory. The Portuguese director Teresa Coutinho rewrites fairy tales. In this premiere, she refers to the impressive work of the painter Paula Rego. In her version, Snow White and Red Riding Hood's mother are completely different: they are multi-layered women who empower themselves, disrupt and can become perpetrators. The Kunstmuseum Basel is dedicating the first Swiss exhibition to the Portuguese-British artist in the fall of 2024, Paula Rego. Power Games, and the Basel company is staging a performance in her honor at the museum, where a musical performance freely based on the motifs of the Brothers Grimm is being created.

A collaboration between the Kunstmuseum Basel and Theater Basel.

Stage production

Teresa Coutinho
Photo:  Christian Knörr

Photo: Christian Knörr

Teresa Coutinho, born in 1988, is an actress, director and writer. In 2016, she attended the École des Maitres under the direction of Christiane Jatahy. She was the Portuguese artist selected for an international residency for theater-makers in Paris in 2023, sponsored by the Abbey Theatre, the Camões Institute and the Centre Culturel Irlandais. As an actress, she has worked with Christiane Jatahy, Tim Crouch, KASSYS, Catherine Marnas, Emilie Rousset, Raquel Castro, Guilherme Gomes, Os Possessos and Silly Season, among others. As an author and director, she was responsible for, among others, 'I ask for the floor' (2023), 'Without fear' (2023), 'Solo' (2022), 'Far away' by Caryl Churchill (2021), the radio play 'The lightness of things' (2020), 'The eternal debate' (2020) and 'Ways of looking' by John Berger (2017). For film, she has worked with Marco Martins, Gonçalo Waddington, Luís Alvarães, Lúcia Pires and João Sousa Cardoso, among others. She is a founding member of Ação Cooperativista, a group that advocates for the rights of cultural workers in Portugal.

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Cast

Jasmin Etezadzadeh
Photo:  Christian Knörr

Photo: Christian Knörr

During her vocal studies, German mezzo-soprano Jasmin Etezadzadeh was a member of the Young Ensemble at the Mainz State Theater. Engagements have taken her to the Komische Oper Berlin, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Nationaltheater Mannheim, among others. She made guest appearances at the Cologne Opera as the witch in 'Hansel and Gretel' and at the Komische Oper as Czipra in 'Der Zigeunerbaron' under the direction of Tobias Kratzer. One of her most important premieres in the field of new music was the opera '22,13' by Marc André. This led her to the Munich Biennale and to the Festival d'Automne Paris at the Opéra National. She has been a member of the Theater Basel ensemble since the 2019/20 season. Here she has already sung, among other roles, Podtotschina in Shostakovich's opera 'The Nose', the alto soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach's staged 'St. Matthew Passion', Herodias in 'Salome' and La Donna in 'Intolleranza 1960'.

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Alina Schmidli
Photo:  Christian Knörr

Photo: Christian Knörr

Alina Schmidli was born in Lucerne in 1996. She had her first encounter with the performing arts in 2009 at the Musical Factory, where she appeared on stage in various musicals such as 'We Will Rock You'. After graduating from high school, she studied literature and linguistics and journalism at the University of Zurich. At the same time, she was active in the Studierendentheater Zürich, where she worked with Alexander Stutz, among others. After graduating with a bachelor's degree, she began studying acting at the Bern University of the Arts in 2022. During her studies, she could already be seen in Sahar Rahimi's production of Aeschylus' 'The Persians' at Theater Basel. In the 24/25 season, Alina Schmidli is part of the acting studio at Theater Basel.

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Antoinette Ullrich
Photo:  Christian Knörr

Photo: Christian Knörr

Antoinette Ullrich was born in Basel in 1997 and grew up there. She made her debut at the junges Theater Basel at the age of 14 and later appeared in the productions Camp Cäsar (2014, directed by Daniel Wahl) and Flex (2015, directed by Suna Gürler). The latter was also shown at the Schauspielhaus Zurich during the 19/20 season. After graduating from high school and taking a year off, Antoinette began her acting studies in Bern in the spring of 2019, where she performed her bachelor's project 'LIFE IS LIVE - NaNaNaNaNa' with two fellow students in 2021. As part of her studies, she won the Migros Kulturprozent Acting Scholarship in 2020 and the Friedl Wald Foundation Acting Scholarship in 2021. During the 2021/2022 season, Antoinette Ullrich was part of the HKB acting studio at Theater Basel. She has been a permanent member of the ensemble since the 2024/2025 season.

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Lucy Wirth
Photo: Christian Knörr

Photo: Christian Knörr

Lucy Wirth, born in Zurich in 1984, currently lives in Munich. After studying acting at the Otto Falckenberg School, she had various permanent engagements from 2007 to 2014, including at the Residenztheater in Munich and the Schaubühne Berlin. This was followed by her first steps in the independent theater scene and guest engagements at various theaters. She has also been developing her own theater projects as a performer and director since 2019. In 2022, she staged Sheila Heti's novel 'MOTHERHOOD' at the Pathos Theater in Munich and in 2024 the play development 'Penis - an embrace' at the Munich Theater HochX. Since September 2024, she has been performing in the novel adaptation 'Sie kam aus Mariupol' by Natascha Wodin, directed by Stas Zhyrkhov, at the Münchner Kammerspiele.

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Costumes: Mariana Sá Nogueira
Dramaturgy: Angela Osthoff

13 November – 12 December 2025

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13 November – 12 December 2025