A leading figure in European theatre, Christoph Marthaler is a specialist of “secrets”, the kind that are kept quiet out of shame, that come to light in strange or anxious behaviour, that affect voices, build up in bodies, and cause cracks to appear in people and their clumsy,  funny outbursts of suffering behind closed doors. A master of slowness, irony and disconnects, Marthaler has invented a poetry of the stage that comprises words, songs and music. Born in 1951 in Erlenbach, Christoph Marthaler is a musician by training and it was music that first brought him into contact with theatre as he spent ten years composing music for theatre directors. In 1980, he produced his first project, Indeed, in Zurich. He met the set and costume designer Anna Viebrock in 1989 and she has created practically all the sets and costumes for his productions ever since. Other productions followed, including L’Affaire de la Rue de Lourcine by Labiche and Murx den Europäer! Murx ihn! Murx ihn! Murx ihn! Murx ihn ab! Ein patriotischer Abend. From 2000 to 2004, he ran the Schauspielhaus in Zurich with the dramaturge Stefanie Carp, staging productions there such as Twelfth Night by Shakespeare, The Beautiful Miller’s Daughter by Schubert, In the Alps by Jelinek and Danton’s Death by Büchner. More recent productions include Papperlapapp, The Makropulos Affair by Janáček, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, Desert Book by Beat Furrer, My Fair Lady, ±0, Faith, Hope and Charity by Horváth, King Size and Das Weinen (Das Wähnen).