MUMMENSCHANZ has enchanted audiences and inspired the world of international theater worldwide with its poetic non-verbal performances for half a century. After 55 years, the award-winning Swiss troupe is now bidding farewell to its audiences with a final tour and a production, Adieu!. The farewell tour pays homage to a unique life’s work and invites all generations to embark once more on a journey filled with imagination, poetry, and wonder. The premiere will take place in Zurich on December 3, 2026.

Founded in Paris in 1972, MUMMENSCHANZ is synonymous the world over with contemporary masked theater that transcends language, culture, and international borders. Without spoken word, music, or stage design—and using only masks, bodies, and a black background—founders Floriana Frassetto, Andres Bossard, and Bernie Schürch created an entirely new dimension in stage art. Their visual, universal form of theater took the world by storm.

With Andres Bossard’s passing in 1992 and Bernie Schürch’s retirement in 2012, Floriana Frassetto has become the artistic soul and driving force behind MUMMENSCHANZ. A period of more than five decades has seen numerous full-length programs, more than 100 productions, and the development of an unmistakable style, both in terms of the acting and the masks worn. Celebrated on all continents, MUMMENSCHANZ remains a symbol of poetic theater—a unique form of emotional expression that, while entirely wordless, is profoundly moving.

Adieu! marks the end of this extraordinary journey. For the farewell tour, Floriana Frassetto has put together a program that combines highlights from 55 years of MUMMENSCHANZ:

“I want to bring our creative universe, in all its facets, back to the people and thus provide a counterpoint to the noisy world that exists outside the theater.”

Popular and iconic acts from the troupe’s broad repertoire can be experienced first-hand—including the fragile, air-filled Giants, the legendary Pipe Creature, and plenty of other bizarre shapes and objects brought to life by five actors. The program is complemented by several new, surprising scenes and the distinctive, headstrong characters that have always set MUMMENSCHANZ apart.

Adieu! is a theater experience without words or music—a poetic and imaginative journey that requires no translation and appeals to people of all ages. For 90 minutes, MUMMENSCHANZ transports the audience into a boundless yet familiar world of quiet comedy, poetry, tenderness, and magic.

The farewell tour will begin on December 3, 2026, at Theater 11 in Zurich and is now booking in North America for the 2027-2028 season.

With Adieu!, MUMMENSCHANZ is saying goodbye to its loyal audience. If you would like to experience the company perform live again—or for the first time—in Switzerland, this is your last chance. This tour is more than a farewell: it marks a piece of theater history.