Gessnerallee
Zürich

For all those who missed it last year: The popular, bizarre performance series Under the Influence will be revived and presented again! In a cozy special setting, Parts I–III can be seen in the afternoon and evening on Sunday, 15 September – including a coffee break and soup. All three parts concern small-scale, clever, and funny reflections about the phenomenon of being under the influence. In the process Phil Hayes worked with different partners: first, in Part I with Spanish artist and performer Maria Jerez; in Part II, with Zurich multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter Sarah Palin; and, in Part III, in the form of a solo – created with Nada Gambier – he performs as himself. All parts followed the same principle: just three weeks of experimentation and rehearsal and then right afterwards, two shows.

Under The Influence – Part I
We are guests of a strange meeting: we’re sitting in a kind of bar at tables with white tablecloths; we nibble on snacks, are horrified by fake blood, and long for Paris. In stories that could be our own, Phil Hayes and Maria Jerez talk about Schau-spielen [German word for acting, but here literally “show-playing”] and why people in the theater pretend to be doing something. An evening about our business – also for those who have nothing to do with it.

Under The Influence – Part II
Voice, drums, and awkward questions: these three components were the basis of the confrontation between multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter Sarah Palin and Phil Hayes. The result is a kind of concert – narrative performance with a lot of music about petty nastiness and strange superpowers.

Under The Influence – Part III
For Part III, Phil Hayes developed a solo piece together with performance artist Nada Gambier in which he reflects in a humorous and touching way what he has learned and from whom. In the process, as spectators, we receive a portion of useful information and learn a few solid tricks.


Phil Hayes is performance artist, actor, and musician. He regularly produces his internationally touring theater works at Gessnerallee Zürich and in addition often works in collaboration with other artists and groups such as Forced Entertainment, Simone Aughterlony, and many others.

Maria Jerez is choreographer as well as film and visual artist. Since 2004, beginning with her work El Caso del Espectator and continuing in her recent works such as Blob, Yabba, and The Stain, she creates performances that explore the relationship with the spectator – as a space in which the modes of representation are destabilized.

Sarah Palin performs as solo musician, as member of JJ & Palin, Boytoy, Phil Hayes & The Trees, and One Sentence as well as with numerous artists and musicians such as Kalabrese + das Rumpelorchester, Big Zis, and Flury and the Nuborns.