Junges Theater Graubünden is as young as its name suggests: Roman Weishaupt’s troupe celebrates its fifth birthday in 2016. Yet the Teater Giuven Grischun/Junges Theater Graubünden/Giovane Teatro Grigioni (TGG/JTG/GTG) has already become a driving force in the theatre scene of its native region, giving young people in the canton access to contemporary theatre. TGG/JTG/GTG was founded in 2011 by Roman Weishaupt, a theatre educator by training who developed the young theatre section at the Theater Chur from 2007 to 2014, together with artist Chris Hunter from Flims and designer and scenographer Corsin Zarn. The Theater Chur has been the production partner of Junges Theater Graubünden each year since its inception. Roman Weishaupt received promotion awards from the City of Chur and Canton of Graubünden in 2013 and 2015.
Courses and training programmes run by theatre professionals offer young people an opportunity to engage with their own personal biographies and experiences, wishes and needs. At the same time, they gain an in-depth insight into contemporary artistic strategies and the performative potentials of theatre. The repertoire is rich and varied, extending to theatre classics by Shakespeare and Greek tragedies but always retaining a link to the young people’s everyday lives. They practise, rehearse and perform not only in Chur, but also in the Domlechg, Engadin, Schanfigg, Surselva and, on one occasion, as guests in Bellinzona. The work of Junges Theater Graubünden thus spreads like a virus throughout the canton, nurturing the audience of tomorrow in peripheral regions.
“The Junges Theater is an outstanding little institution in Graubünden. Not that the region between Chur and Tirano has any shortage of stages. From village dramatics and open-air theatre to performances on Alpine passes, and worldly stages to small cellars – Graubünden has it all. But Roman Weishaupt and his merry band have taken it upon themselves to infect the region’s youth with contemporary theatre. A theatre that embraces the joys, fears and hopes of young people; that celebrates Richard III, Odysseus and Parzival as states of the soul with consistent force, passion and intelligence. It transmits world literature in Chur dialect, Romansh, Italian and High German, ensuring that art and imagination continue to flourish in Graubünden.”
