Hysteria is a female disease invented by male doctors. Using the example of a young dancer, Alexander Kamber tells of obscure treatment methods and survival tactics in a Parisian mental hospital around 1900. In order to prove the existence of the mysterious illness “hysteria”, the head neurologist organises demonstrations in the clinic in front of an international audience. Not everything seems to be going according to plan: The patients move uncontrollably, roll their eyes and collapse in front of the audience. Why is the ghostly disease getting worse steadily? Is there a way out of the hospital, known as “female hell” in turn-of-the-century Paris?

Presented by: Alexander Kamber, born in 1995, studied cultural studies in Zurich and Lüneburg. He is currently completing his doctorate at the University of Zurich with a cultural history project on dance and theatre around 1900, in which he is researching the interface between stage art, technology and biosciences. His first novel “All das hier” was published by Limmat Verlag in 2018. Moderation: Larissa Waibel.