«Bon mot» – Reading with Antoine Jaccoud and Alex Capus

Description

«A violet flower on Madame Regamey's back. A huge skull on Miss Imholz’s left buttock. A little devil on Mr. Ferrari’s shoulder blade. A golden ring in Mr. Boillat’s nose. ...We are in a Swiss retirement home in the year 2063 AD.» Antoine Jaccoud and Alex Capus present Antoine Jaccoud’s latest work «Bon mot». Reading in French and German. His performances with «Bern ist überall» have also made Antoine Jaccoud’s melancholic smile known in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. The subtle mischief of this author is not only evident on stage but also in his texts. They chant the Swedish names of IKEA furniture, tell stories of DIPL. ING. FUST and Otto’s goods posts, and about all the options advertised to us for eating, cultural and sports activities, and health and diet cures, as if we were only dealing with nostalgic memories of long-past consumer habits. Instead of bitter accusations, they invite us with overwhelming reconciliation to change our way of life and to oppose human and animal suffering and environmental destruction, as well as racism and xenophobia. Antoine Jaccoud has found a translator in Alex Capus, who, with his own humor, fully captures the alienating self-irony of these texts in German as well. Antoine Jaccoud Born in 1957, lives and works as a freelance author in the Romandie. His plays have been performed in Europe, Mexico, and Burkina Faso and broadcast by Radiotelevisione Svizzera and France Culture. As a screenwriter, he has collaborated with Ursula Meier («Home», «Sister») and Bettina Oberli («The Wind is Turning») among others, and has been awarded the «Prix d’honneur du cinéma suisse» for his work. Jaccoud is a member of the spoken-word ensemble «Bern ist überall». In German, his book «Der gefrorene Zulu im Diemtigtal» was published in 2022 (Knapp Verlag). Alex Capus Born in 1961 in Normandy, lives in Olten. He writes novels, short stories, and reports. He was awarded the Solothurner Art Prize in 2020 for his literary work. In August 2026, the novel «Querfeldein» will be published by Carl Hanser Verlag. Supported by Pro Helvetia, Swiss Cultural Foundation. Photos © Mergime Nocaj & Emilien Itim Source: Kornhausbibliothek License: CC BY-SA 4.0