100 years ago, the Pfauen opened its doors as a modern spoken-word theatre. Since then, generations of artists, theatre makers and audience members have shaped this place.
To mark this anniversary, we are setting out in search of traces: of people, stories and encounters; of rituals and traditions; and of the unconscious and the unspoken that have accompanied a theatre across generations. Join us in discovering the stories that have shaped the Schauspielhaus – and which are waiting to be rediscovered.
20.08.2026
100 Years of the Pfauenbühne: From Variety Theatre to the World Stage
Anyone entering the Pfauensaal today would hardly suspect that skittles were once played here. At the turn of the century, this site was home to the ‘Volkstheater zum Pfauen’, a variety theatre with a beer garden and skittles alley – an entertainment venue that struggled with changing owners and financial difficulties before the Pfauen became a satellite stage for the Stadttheater am See, now known as the Zurich Opera House.
In 1926, the Zurich wine merchant Ferdinand Rieser took over the theatre, had the auditorium enlarged and the stage converted into a modern proscenium stage, which remains the heart of the theatre to this day. Above all, however, under Rieser’s leadership, the theatre on Heimplatz gained its artistic and financial independence. The venue transformed from a place of entertainment into the Schauspielhaus Zürich – one of the most significant stages for modern spoken theatre in the German-speaking world.
And today? The skittle alley has long been forgotten, the proscenium stage from 1926 still stands, and the Schauspielhaus has not forgotten its mission: to create a space in which drama ‘can unfold completely freely and uninhibitedly under a management that devotes its energy solely to the theatre’. This is how the board of the Zurich Theatre Association put it in September 1926 at the opening of the new season. With the 2026/27 season, we are celebrating its 100th anniversary and commemorating the eventful history of this theatre.
