By Yanik Riedo

The Theater HORA is an inclusive theatre company based in Zurich, Switzerland whose ensemble consists of performers with (dis)abilities. The ensemble devises performances in collaboration with HORA’s in-house production team and guest artists. Recently, I was one of those guests, working as a Subtitle Translator and Assistant Director on School of Lovers – a film and performance experience about love and intimacy.

Thanks to my double-role and the HORA’s collaborative approach, we were able to integrate the translation into the rehearsal process. The result was an evening full of differently paced subtitles that tried to empower those who were speaking as well as those who were reading along. Sometimes they corrected grammatical mistakes for clarity’s sake. Sometimes they didn’t for beauty’s sake. Sometimes they went silent and let other languages speak. And sometimes they danced around in their own time, just like the HORAs.

School of Lovers premiered at the Shedhalle in Zurich in December 2023 and was recently part of the No Limits Disability and Performing Arts Festival 2024 in Berlin.