The Gay Beggars are an independent and non-professional theatre company, which has specialised in the production of plays (etc.) written in English. Founded by students of the Department of English at the University of Basel in the early 40s, the Gay Beggars have managed to keep up the long-standing tradition of staging at least one play a year on average.
Owing to the initiative of the late Professor Rudolf Stamm (1909-1991), it has become possible for the Gay Beggars to make use of the marvellous Cellar Theatre in the 'Schönes Haus', Nadelberg 6, which opened in 1969. In addition to the annual performances in the Cellar Theatre, there have also been many performances in other places in Switzerland and abroad (e.g. Bochum, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Crakow, Prague, Weimar, Zürich 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.
