Fictional resort plans stir debate at Morgarten memorial

A fictional plan for a luxury resort at the Morgarten memorial has stirred strong reactions among local residents, SRF reports. The construction markers are part of “Spatenstich,” a new open-air play in Morgarten.

Villagers were unsettled when they saw the markers at the memorial above Lake Ägeri in the canton of Zug. Some wondered whether an old people’s home or even an asylum centre was planned there.

The play eventually reveals that the markers signal a huge luxury resort at a prime location, proposed by a wealthy and flamboyant group of investors.

The production reflects real debates in Central Switzerland. It evokes Egyptian investor Samih Sawiris and his five-star luxury hotel in Andermatt, as well as his abandoned plans for a marina on the Isleten peninsula in the canton of Uri. The Bürgenstock Resort, owned by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, is another reference.

The construction markers are a central part of the set and began causing reactions even before rehearsals started. “The municipality received calls from people who wanted to know what was going on here,” co-director Annette Windlin told SRF. “There were also tourists who wanted to write a letter to the Federal Council because of it.”

Windlin said the emotions had been “incredible”. She said the response showed that the play “hits the nerve of the times”. Interest is also reflected in ticket sales: half of the tickets had been sold before Friday’s premiere.

The open-air production in Oberägeri appears to have found its audience while similar theatres are disappearing elsewhere. After this season, the production on Moosegg in the Emmental will end after 30 years. The open-air theatre on Bern’s Gurten mountain, which has staged a production every two years since 2002, will also close after this year’s performance.

Both productions are ending because no successors have been found. Financial pressure, dependence on the weather and competition from other cultural events also play a role.

The Morgarten production may be benefiting from the success of its previous staging in 2015, held for the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Morgarten. More than 13,300 people attended one of 17 performances, giving the production an overall occupancy rate of 94 percent.

“People know us here and in the surrounding area,” Windlin said. The production’s irregular schedule also helps it raise the 1.1 million Swiss franc budget, she said, because organisers do not have to approach the same donors every two years.

The 41 amateur actors wear more than 150 costumes during the play. The performance grounds cover 20,000 square metres, and the production also includes a flashback to the period when the Morgarten memorial was created.