GROUP50:50

27/04/2026

WAX TRADERS
Eva-Maria Bertschy & Kojack Kossakamvwe
Produced by GROUP50:50
In coproduction with Vorarlberger Landestheater and Kaserne Basel

Shows 2026:
May 27th, 29th & 30th, Vorarlberger Landestheater
November 12th & 13th, Bühne Aarau
November 18th & 19th, Theater Casino Zug

Bodo Blitz, in Theater der Zeit, April 20th 2026:

„Die Besonderheit liegt vor allem darin, dass die Narration häufig über Lieder funktioniert. Kossakamvves großartige Musik über die Instrumente von Trommeln und E-Gitarre ist ein Mix aus afrikanischen Einflüssen, aus Soul und aus Jazz. Das alles führt zu einer wunderbaren Vielstimmigkeit, die über das Musikalische weit hinausgeht […]. Was hält diese, für sich genommen, disparaten Elemente zusammen – die unterschiedlichen Sprachen, das multikulturelle Ensemble und eine Handlung, welche gleich drei Kontinente überspannt? Es ist die Theaterbühne des Vorarlberger Landestheaters. Hier funktioniert die Kommunikation, entsteht der utopische Raum für gelingende Begegnungen.

Mut macht auch das Bild der beiden afrikanischen Frauen, mit deren Biografie sich die Autorinnen in „Wax Traders“ intensiver beschäftigen – mit Regina und mit Adjoa, beides Händlerinnen aus Accra in Ghana. Sie bedienen kein Stereotyp der ausgebeuteten Schwarzen Frau, sind stark, bleiben handlungsmächtig. Ihr Behauptungskampf im globalen Kapitalismus zeigt Momente des Gelingens und des Scheiterns – ohne moralischen Zeigefinger.“

Director: Eva-Maria Bertschy
Musical director / composer: Kojack Kossakamvwe
Text: Eva-Maria Bertschy and Edwige Dro
Dramaturgy and translation: Luca Maier
Performers: Araba Dansowaa Agyare, Jahelle Bonee, Martina Momo Kunz, Kojack Kossakamvwe and Jonathan Tshimbombo
Scenography: Percy Nii Nortey
Costumes: Austin Nortey
Lightdesign: Sylvain Faye
Assistant director: Olga Gubina
Video and Photos: Henry Nelson Dezousa and Kofi Amankwah, Olga Gubina and Paul Shemisi
Head of production: Camille Florence Jamet Tourmanagement: Luca Maier
In the Videos: Albertine Elanga, Lois Gyebuah Nyamekye Addo

10/04/2026

WAX TRADERS
Bertschy & Kossakamvwe

Fantastic Premiere at Voralberger Landestheater on 9th of April!

further dates:
12th of April / Voralberger Landestheater
14th of April / Voralberger Landestheater

18th of April / Kaserne Basel
21st of April / Kaserne Basel
22nd of April / Kaserne Basel

27th of May / Voralberger Landestheater
29th of May / Voralberger Landestheater
30th of May / Voralberger Landestheater

26/03/2026

VORALBERGER LANDESTHEATER:
9th / 12th / 14th of April
KASERNE BASEL:
18th / 21st / 22nd of April

WAX TRADERS tells the story of WAX PRINTS – cotton fabrics with colourful print design, that Swiss and Dutch textile companies developed for the West African market by copying Indonesian patterns and printing technique. A music theatre piece about Swiss colonial history and textile trade.

DIRECTOR Eva-Maria Bertschy
MUSICAL DIRECTOR Kojack Kossakamvwe
TEXT Eva-Maria Bertschy and Edwige Dro
PERFORMANCE Jahelle Bonne, Araba Dansowaa, Martina Momo Kunz,
Jonathan Tshimbombo, Kojack Kossakamvwe,
COSTUMES Austin Nortey
STAGE DESIGN Percy Nii Nortey

02/12/2025

Everyone knows the colourful cotton fabrics we call ‘African wax prints’. But hardly anyone knows their colonial history. And who would have thought? Switzerland played an important role in spreading these fabrics in West Africa. In the mid-19th century, a Dutch company copied an Indonesian printing technique, and the Basel Mission’s trading company created a market for it on the Gold Coast.

In talks, films and installations, designers, artists and researchers from Africa and Europe shed light on the colonial entanglement between Switzerland and West Africa over two centuries, focusing on the production and trade of colourful cotton fabrics. WAX ENCOUNTERS is the first part of a multifaceted theatre and fashion project by GROUP50:50.

Photo by Kofi Amankwah

Funded by Basel-Stadt / Basel-Landschaft

GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Kaserne Basel, Culturescapes and Vorarlberger Landestheater

In collaboration with 4TheKultur – Promoting and sharing the beauty and diversity of Black culture, TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance, Mission 21 / Archive of the Basel Mission, Museum of Cultures Basel, Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel

With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.

02/12/2025

Everyone knows the colourful cotton fabrics we call ‘African wax prints’. But hardly anyone knows their colonial history. And who would have thought? Switzerland played an important role in spreading these fabrics in West Africa. In the mid-19th century, a Dutch company copied an Indonesian printing technique, and the Basel Mission’s trading company created a market for it on the Gold Coast.

In talks, films and installations, designers, artists and researchers from Africa and Europe shed light on the colonial entanglement between Switzerland and West Africa over two centuries, focusing on the production and trade of colourful cotton fabrics. WAX ENCOUNTERS is the first part of a multifaceted theatre and fashion project by GROUP50:50.

Photo by Kofi Amankwah

Funded by Basel-Stadt / Basel-Landschaft

GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Kaserne Basel, Culturescapes and Vorarlberger Landestheater

In collaboration with 4TheKultur – Promoting and sharing the beauty and diversity of Black culture, TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance, Mission 21 / Archive of the Basel Mission, Museum of Cultures Basel, Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel

With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.

30/11/2025

We had the Most amazing two days at Kaserne Basel with With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.

24/11/2025

WAX ENCOUNTERS (link in bio)

FR 28.11.2025
17:00 - 18:00 – We call it Tshigan (ça coûte de l’or)
18:00 - 20:00 – SESSION 1 : Swiss textiles to the world! A colonial history
20:30 - 22:30 – SESSION 2 : Highlife in Basel! Listening to the UTC archives

SA 29.11.2025
11:00 - 13:00 – SESSION 3 : Know what you wear! Wax prints today
13:30 - 15:30 – SESION 4 : WAX Prints Future Design! Open Lab

Everyone knows the colourful cotton fabrics we call ‘African wax prints’. But hardly anyone knows their colonial history. And who would have thought? Switzerland played an important role in spreading these fabrics in West Africa. In the mid-19th century, a Dutch company copied an Indonesian printing technique, and the Basel Mission’s trading company created a market for it on the Gold Coast.

In talks, films and installations, designers, artists and researchers from Africa and Europe shed light on the colonial entanglement between Switzerland and West Africa over two centuries, focusing on the production and trade of colourful cotton fabrics. WAX ENCOUNTERS is the first part of a multifaceted theatre and fashion project by GROUP50:50.

Photo by Kofi Amankwah

Funded by Basel-Stadt / Basel-Landschaft

GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Kaserne Basel, Culturescapes and Vorarlberger Landestheater

In collaboration with 4TheKultur – Promoting and sharing the beauty and diversity of Black culture, TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance, Mission 21 / Archive of the Basel Mission, Museum of Cultures Basel, Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel

With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.

23/11/2025

WAX ENCOUNTERS (link in bio)

FR 28.11.2025
17:00 - 18:00 – We call it Tshigan (ça coûte de l’or)
18:00 - 20:00 – SESSION 1 : Swiss textiles to the world! A colonial history
20:30 - 22:30 – SESSION 2 : Highlife in Basel! Listening to the UTC archives

SA 29.11.2025
11:00 - 13:00 – SESSION 3 : Know what you wear! Wax prints today
13:30 - 15:30 – SESION 4 : WAX Prints Future Design! Open Lab

Everyone knows the colourful cotton fabrics we call ‘African wax prints’. But hardly anyone knows their colonial history. And who would have thought? Switzerland played an important role in spreading these fabrics in West Africa. In the mid-19th century, a Dutch company copied an Indonesian printing technique, and the Basel Mission’s trading company created a market for it on the Gold Coast.

In talks, films and installations, designers, artists and researchers from Africa and Europe shed light on the colonial entanglement between Switzerland and West Africa over two centuries, focusing on the production and trade of colourful cotton fabrics. WAX ENCOUNTERS is the first part of a multifaceted theatre and fashion project by GROUP50:50.

Photo by Kofi Amankwah

Funded by Basel-Stadt / Basel-Landschaft

GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Kaserne Basel, Culturescapes and Vorarlberger Landestheater

In collaboration with 4TheKultur – Promoting and sharing the beauty and diversity of Black culture, TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance, Mission 21 / Archive of the Basel Mission, Museum of Cultures Basel, Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel

With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.

19/11/2025

19/11/2025

Link in bio!

FR 28.11.2025
17:00 - 18:00 – We call it Tshigan (ça coûte de l’or)
18:00 - 20:00 – SESSION 1 : Swiss textiles to the world! A colonial history
20:30 - 22:30 – SESSION 2 : Highlife in Basel! Listening to the UTC archives

SA 29.11.2025
11:00 - 13:00 – SESSION 3 : Know what you wear! Wax prints today
13:30 - 15:30 – SESION 4 : WAX Prints Future Design! Open Lab

Everyone knows the colourful cotton fabrics we call ‘African wax prints’. But hardly anyone knows their colonial history. And who would have thought? Switzerland played an important role in spreading these fabrics in West Africa. In the mid-19th century, a Dutch company copied an Indonesian printing technique, and the Basel Mission’s trading company created a market for it on the Gold Coast.

In talks, films and installations, designers, artists and researchers from Africa and Europe shed light on the colonial entanglement between Switzerland and West Africa over two centuries, focusing on the production and trade of colourful cotton fabrics. WAX ENCOUNTERS is the first part of a multifaceted theatre and fashion project by GROUP50:50.

Photo by Kofi Amankwah

Funded by Basel-Stadt / Basel-Landschaft

GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Kaserne Basel, Culturescapes and Vorarlberger Landestheater

In collaboration with 4TheKultur – Promoting and sharing the beauty and diversity of Black culture, TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance, Mission 21 / Archive of the Basel Mission, Museum of Cultures Basel, Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel

With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.

19/11/2025

FR 28.11.2025
17:00 - 18:00 – We call it Tshigan (ça coûte de l’or)
18:00 - 20:00 – SESSION 1 : Swiss textiles to the world! A colonial history
20:30 - 22:30 – SESSION 2 : Highlife in Basel! Listening to the UTC archives

SA 29.11.2025
11:00 - 13:00 – SESSION 3 : Know what you wear! Wax prints today
13:30 - 15:30 – SESION 4 : WAX Prints Future Design! Open Lab

Everyone knows the colourful cotton fabrics we call ‘African wax prints’. But hardly anyone knows their colonial history. And who would have thought? Switzerland played an important role in spreading these fabrics in West Africa. In the mid-19th century, a Dutch company copied an Indonesian printing technique, and the Basel Mission’s trading company created a market for it on the Gold Coast.

In talks, films and installations, designers, artists and researchers from Africa and Europe shed light on the colonial entanglement between Switzerland and West Africa over two centuries, focusing on the production and trade of colourful cotton fabrics. WAX ENCOUNTERS is the first part of a multifaceted theatre and fashion project by GROUP50:50.

Photo by Kofi Amankwah

Funded by Basel-Stadt / Basel-Landschaft

GROUP50:50 in coproduction with Kaserne Basel, Culturescapes and Vorarlberger Landestheater

In collaboration with 4TheKultur – Promoting and sharing the beauty and diversity of Black culture, TaDA – Textile and Design Alliance, Mission 21 / Archive of the Basel Mission, Museum of Cultures Basel, Centre for African Studies at the University of Basel

With Edwige Dro, author (Abidjan), Percy Nii Nortey, visual artist (Kumasi), Kojack Kossakamvwe, guitarist (Kinshasa), Austin Nortey, fashion designer (Kumasi), Eva-Maria Bertschy, director and author (Basel), Elia Rediger, artist and musician (Basel), Luca Maier, dramaturg (Berlin), Prince Toffa, artist (Cotonou), Dunja Herzog, visual artist (Basel), Helen Elands, art historian (Brussels), Veit Arlt, historian (Basel), Serena Owusua Dankwa, social anthropologist (Basel) and Isabelle Logovi, founder of Afrobelle fashion.