'The clown is the ultimate punk'

If the Swiss are known for anything it’s their precision, timekeeping or watchmaking perhaps – and probably not their comedy. But Switzerland also has its own traditions when it comes to making people laugh, and Martin Zimmermann stretches the limits of conventional Swiss comedy – as we can see in two plays he brings now to Zurich. Zimmermann is not just faithful to this honourable lineage of Swiss clowns, of which Grock (1880-1959), Dimitri (1935-2016), and Gardi Hutter (born 1953, and still very active) are some of the most notable names. The performer, director, choreographer and set designer from Zurich also mixes drama, tragedy, irony, dance and acrobatics, conveying his message in a universal language to audiences from Tokyo to New York. Celebrities such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Isabelle Huppert and Jane Birkin are said to be among his fans. Zimmermann was born in 1970 and grew up in a small town near Zurich, in a family of cheesemakers. Even as a child he loved to imitate ...