Regula Esposito alias Helga Schneider "I had to leave my home"

Helga Schneider is touring the country with her fifth show. In this interview, she talks about what her character can do better, why she's not thinking about quitting - and how she lost her apartment in Zurich's Kreis 4 district.

Your current stage program is called "Sweet & Sour". Is life "sweet & sour"?

Regula Esposito alias Helga Schneider: That sums it up perfectly.

Does your alter ego Helga Schneider have carte blanche on stage?

Because I'm a fictional character with a Zurich twist, I have more fool's freedom on the playing field. Helga Schneider is constantly sipping Cüpli and is always on the verge of losing her composure. After all, she's the voice of the people.

As a comedian, are you allowed to make fun of everything?

Yes, you can - but you have to switch on your brain. If you've done your homework well, if you've done your research, if you know what your inner attitude to a political topic is, then that's also a clever statement in a joke. You can make fun of anything - with a lot of respect - as long as it's not primitive, racist or hurtful.

Are the woken times a challenge?

They are. There are many topics that society has become more sensitive to today. Why are we talking about gender, wokeness, emancipation or racism? Because it is still the case in society that certain people are not treated equally to the vast majority who are not in the LGBTQ community, are not people of color or from Switzerland.

You have been a successful stage performer for 30 years. What can you do better today?

At the beginning you are blind, amateurish, anarchic! You don't care about the laws of the stage. Why does a comedian need a director? I don't need to know how a joke is constructed, I do what I feel like doing. I think this phase is important. It's like a child who is supposed to be a child at the beginning. Suddenly success comes and you realize that you have to think more about it.

For example?

Then you learn how to make and sell art. The whole business aspect comes into play, you become a brand, you sign contracts. And suddenly the whole thing is an SME. What I'm also better at now is thinking analytically and categorizing things.

What becomes more difficult with experience?

You always think that the more experience you have, the calmer you become. For me, it's exactly the opposite. The more I know, the more I know where I can go wrong, where I can offend. The more I think I know how to do comedy, the greater the stage fright. In our profession, you can never rest on your laurels. With every new performance, with every new piece, you should go on stage with humility.

"Sweet & Sour" is your fifth solo piece. You are 59 years old. Are you going to be a comedian until you retire?

My plan is to carry on as before. To be on stage for as long as I enjoy it, as long as I can think up new things and as long as the audience supports me. I won't stop when I get my AHV pension. The most important question for every artist is: I hope I realize when it's time to stop. Hopefully I'll realize that I'm old and embarrassing. As long as I'm in the juice and have output, I'll keep going.

In 2018, you played a season with Circus Knie. That's a kind of accolade. What would be a step up?

Based on my gut feeling, I'd say: to provide solid entertainment for another eight to ten years and then make a good exit.

What do you mean by making a good exit?

I'm an old Guetsli, the younger generation is already twice as old and has an enormous creative output. Humor is changing, and the world is also changing thanks to social media. If you can be on stage until you're 65 or 68, that's great!

You mentioned social media earlier. To keep up with the times, are you on TikTok?

Oh no, my life is too precious for that. Of course I follow and use it. But compared to the young comedians, I'm en alti Mueter, a digital oldie and a member of the Silver Society.

What can Helga Schneider do better than Regula Esposito?

Schnurre, entertaining people. In my private life, I'm much less spectacular than Helga. The stage offers me a protected space in which I can express myself, but I don't need that in my private life. In private, I'm Regula, who nobody knows when she's not wearing her wig.

Can you still go somewhere without being recognized?

I can have a drink at the bar after the show, that's no problem. As long as I don't open my mouth, I can listen to what people say about me. Attention, after the show I stand next to you and listen!

When you try out new gags, is your sweetheart, football coach Fredy Bickel, your guinea pig?

When I've written something, he has to listen. Then it becomes critical. Then he thinks about how honest he should be and whether he should say that it's a load of rubbish. And then I think: please don't say that you think it's a complete load of rubbish. Then we have a constructive discussion.

So that's an important first indicator.

A first attempt is important, a kind of mirror to see whether an idea has meat on the bone. My partner Fredy is very critical and a good observer.

You often hear that: In relationships, it's fundamental to have the same sense of humor. Is that true?

Humor is the basis of a good relationship. It's part of healthy mental hygiene to be able to laugh at yourself. Humor is an emotional outlet, like crying. Laughing and crying are two very similar things. There is an endorphin release, there is cell division, humor helps to process things. If I can't laugh in a relationship with my partner, it won't last a week.

You fell in love with your current partner when you were over 50. Does late love feel different?

Even at 50, you mutate into a teenager in love again. This hormonal process is always the same. It can still happen to you at 80.

You've moved to the country to be with your partner. How does that feel as a die-hard city dweller?

It feels extremely good in the country because I've moved in with someone I love and want to live with. We live in a beautiful place. But I wouldn't have moved to the country if my apartment in Zurich hadn't been terminated.

A Zurich kid?

Yes, I've always said to Fredy, I'm a city girl, you're a country girl, you stay there. As long as we can afford this luxury, that's what we'll do. But unfortunately I can no longer afford Zurich, I've been looking for a long time. Or let's put it this way: I'm not prepared to put 4 to 5,000 francs on the table just for an apartment in Zurich.

That sounds sad.

Yes, my heart is still bleeding because I had to leave my home country. But I've been richly blessed by my relationship. And once a month I have to visit my neighbors, purr stupidly, drink coffee, go shopping, get a taste of the city air.

The last performance of "Sweet & Sour" is in October 2025. How does it feel to say goodbye to a play that you've been performing for a year and a half?

It's an emotionless decision. From my experience, I know that a piece works for so long - and then there's the inner attitude. There are artists who play the same piece for several years. My aim is to bring a new play to the stage every two years.

Do you reward yourself with a break afterwards?

I reward myself in small installments, I don't take long breaks and travel. I tend to say: Honey, we've finished this season well, let's go to Sardinia for a week.

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