Deep Talk with Dino Brandão, Michel von Känel, Lia Maria Neff and Marah Rikli
A conversation about contradictions in life and art
BEHIND THE SCENES - DEEP TALK WITH MARAH RIKLI
Focus topic: WIDERSPRUCH
With Dino Brandão, Lia Maria Neff and Michel von Känel aka Paprika
In this edition of Deep Talk, Marah Rikli invites us to explore the creative, social and intimate potential of contradiction - with three artists whose work and biographies are characterised by ruptures, inner shifts and self-determination.
Lia Maria Neff tells of falling apart, shifts and inner earthquakes in her new album "Verrutscht". Her music between songwriting, pop, art music and double bass is contradiction in sound form: against quick answers, for enduring uncertainty.
Michel von Känel aka Paprika lives the contradiction between the classroom and the drag stage. Michel is a maths and science teacher - and at the same time one of Switzerland's most influential drag personalities. Where others draw boundaries, Paprika opens up spaces of diversity, freedom and self-empowerment.
Dino Brandão moves between worlds, both musically and biographically - between Luanda and Zurich, between improvisation and precise composition, between introversion and ecstatic expression. His new album "I LOVE YOU, I LEAVE YOU" is based on the award-winning documentary film of the same name, in which Dino's best friend accompanies the musician through a manic phase. Dino's music repeatedly invites the listener to move through contradictions. To connect with vulnerability, anger, sadness, humour and love with themselves and others.
Marah Rikli's life is also characterised by contradictions. As the carer of a daughter with disabilities, she lives an everyday life that is characterised by structural and social barriers. At the same time, she performs on stage as a public figure, moderates political and cultural talks and is committed to disability rights and the LGBTQIA+ community. Tensions arise between caring and activism, which Marah does not hide, but consciously brings into dialogue: as an attitude and resistance against an ascribed single role.
An evening full of depth, art, courage and resistance. For everyone who wants to know how contradiction becomes a motor for change.
Bar / book table: 18.30h
Start 19.30
End 21.00h
No break
With sign language interpretation
Thursday: 22.01.2026 19:30
Tickets:
https://comedyhaus.ch/detail-seite/deep-talk-5.html
To this organizer's website
Eventfrog: https://eventfrog.ch/de/p/theater-buehne/buehnenveranstaltung/hinter-den-kulissen-der-deep-talk-mit-marah-rikli-7405256207676480867.html
Box office: TWINT or cash
Dino Brandão is a Swiss musician and singer-songwriter with Angolan roots who moves between pop, art music, improvisation and poetic sound research. With his new album I LOVE YOU, I LEAVE YOU, which emerged from an award-winning documentary film, he processes personal experiences, psychological crises and transgenerational themes and combines intimate narrative power with musical experimentation.
Photo Credits: Flavio Leone
Lia Maria Neff is an author and musician. In her artistic work, she combines language and music to create multi-layered narrative spaces between poetry, pop and performance. her debut novel "Ein bisschen für immer" was published by Atlantis Verlag in 2025. With her solo project "Follia" and her band "Caspar von Nebenan", she regularly performs on music stages in German-speaking Switzerland.
Photo Credits: Benjamin Rauber
Michel von Känel is a teacher, drag artist and performer. He has been making his mark on the Swiss drag scene as Paprika since 2018, performing in cities such as Zurich, Bern, Berlin and Amsterdam. He performed in the acclaimed play "Meerjungfrauen" at Schauspielhaus Zürich and is regularly featured in the media. As an educator and queer stage personality, he is committed to challenging gender norms and making diversity visible in schools and the public sphere.
Photo Credits: Michael Schmid
Marah Rikli is a journalist, presenter and podcaster. As a queer, intersectional feminist, she is committed to inclusion and diversity in all her work. She lives in Zurich and is the mother of two children, both living with neurodivergence, her daughter with a cognitive disability.
Photo Credits: Jeremie Luke