Basel Expats

The Gay Beggars Drama group is the English speaking theatre group of the English Department of the University of Basel.

The Gay Beggars Drama Group: a short history

The Gay Beggars is an independent, non-subsidized and non-professional theatre company. The group specialises in the production of plays and other performance works written in English. Founded by students of the English Seminar of the University of Basel in the early 40s, they are named after their first performance “The Beggar’s Opera” by John Gay. They have managed to keep up the long-standing tradition of staging at least one play per year, on average.

Owing to the initiative of the late Professor Stamm, it has become possible for the Gay Beggars to make use of the marvellous Cellar Theatre of the ‘Schoenes Haus’, which opened in 1969.

In addition to the annual performances in the Cellar Theatre, there have also been many tours and performances in other places in Switzerland and abroad (e.g. Bochum, Frankfurt, Krakow, Prague, Weimar etc.). People with an insatiable interest in theatre and a reasonably good command of the English language are very welcome to look in and join the Gay Beggars.

Though quite demanding and time-consuming, theatre work with the Gay Beggars offers you a brilliant opportunity to get involved in a rewarding activity and get to know other students and English speaking people in Basel.