On Tuesday, December 2nd, a very special event was celebrated in the Theater am Gleis: The Junge Theater Winterthur received the 2025 Youth Prize from the city of Winterthur, which is endowed with 10,000 francs. This award recognizes the long-standing commitment of the association, which has been successfully active since 1999. It not only teaches young people and adults interested in theater acting skills, but also strengthens young people's self-confidence by having them take on different roles.

The ceremonial awards ceremony was attended by many guests and there was even a charming performance entitled “Being there is everything”, in which the audience was actively involved in the proceedings. Natalia Napora, the association's president, summed it up when she emphasized that it was high time to receive this recognition - the association has almost 30 years under its belt and offers around 1,000 visitors and around 40 active members the opportunity to experience and create the theater up close every year.

Commitment to youth

The Junge Theater Winterthur offers a wide range of theater experiences, ranging from improvisation techniques and acting skills to the development and performance of plays. The diversity of the offerings is reflected in the four different formations, which give participants insights into stage design, direction, technology and costume design. What is particularly pleasing is that the club lifted its age restriction three years ago. Since then it has been open to anyone interested, regardless of age, origin or previous knowledge.

Mayor Michael Künzle emphasized the importance of the theater as a place of expression and development for teenagers and young adults. City councilor Nicolas Galladé also spoke positively about the Junge Theater Winterthur and described it as a wonderful learning environment. The prize money will now be used to further professionalize the courses and to compensate the course instructors appropriately.

A look into the future

The Junge Theater Winterthur sees itself as a creative space where both children and adults come together to live out their imagination and develop acting skills. The organizers would like to continue to appeal to a wider audience with various events and performances.

Some of the next performances have already been decided: The “U16” group will show their piece “Love Without End” on July 4th and 5th at 8 p.m. and on July 6th at 3 p.m. The “Hecht” group will present the piece “Why we don’t have family reunions anymore. Money – Greed – Carnage” from July 11th to 13th at 7:30 p.m. The play “Septem – Discover the Sin in You” is on the program for the “Seven” group from July 16th to 19th at 8 p.m. The offerings are financed primarily through ticket sales and membership contributions.

Overall, the Junge Theater Winterthur shows how important creative platforms are for the development of young people. Youth surveys in Winterthur have clearly demonstrated the importance of such offers. The award is a significant recognition that is important not only for the club itself, but also for the future of youth development in the region. You can find out more about this in the reports from the Winterthurer Zeitung and the [Stadt Winterthur].