The ''Theater am Schiffbauerdamm'' () is a theatre building at the ''Schiffbauerdamm'' riverside in the Mitte district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany, opened on 19 November 1892. Since 1954, it has been home to the

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langho ...

theatre company, founded in 1949 by

Helene Weigel Helene Weigel (; 12 May 19006 May 1971) was a German actress and artistic director. She was the second wife of Bertolt Brecht and was married to him from 1930 until his death in 1956. Together they had two children. Personal life Weigel was bo ...

and Bertolt Brecht. The original name of the Neo-baroque construction by the architect Heinrich Seeling was ''Neues Theater''. The first performance was

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

's play '' Iphigenie auf Tauris''. ''Die Weber'', a naturalistic drama by

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He rece ...

, had its premiere in a private audience at the theatre on 26 February 1893. From 1903 to 1906, the ''Neues Theater'' was under the management of

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pro ...

; it later became the site of numerous operetta performances. With the premiere of the comedy ''Der fröhliche Weinberg'' by

Carl Zuckmayer Carl Zuckmayer (27 December 1896 – 18 January 1977) was a German writer and playwright. His older brother was the pedagogue, composer, conductor, and pianist Eduard Zuckmayer. Life and career Born in Nackenheim in Rhenish Hesse, he was ...

on 22 December 1925, the theatre returned to dramatic art, followed by the first performances of ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...

'' (''Die Dreigroschenoper'') on 31 August 1928 and of the ''Italienische Nacht'' by

Ödön von Horváth Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...

on 20 March 1931. Bertolt Brecht staged Marieluise Fleißer's play '' Pioneers in Ingolstadt'' on 30 March 1929, causing a scandal. The theatre saw

Gustaf Gründgens Gustaf Gründgens (; 22 December 1899 – 7 October 1963), born Gustav Heinrich Arnold Gründgens, was one of Germany's most famous and influential actors of the 20th century, and artistic director of theatres in Berlin, Düsseldorf, and Hamburg ...

giving his debut as a director with

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the s ...

's ''Orphée'' and guest performances by the ''Truppe 31'' stage company of

Gustav von Wangenheim Gustav von Wangenheim (born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von Wangenheim; 18 February 1895 – 5 August 1975) was a German nobleman, actor, screenwriter and director. Life Wangenheim was born Ingo Clemens Gustav Adolf Freiherr von W ...

. From 1931 on, the theatre was called ''Deutsches Nationaltheater am Schiffbauerdamm''. Notable actors included

Lotte Lenya Lotte Lenya (born Karoline Wilhelmine Charlotte Blamauer; 18 October 1898 – 27 November 1981) was an Austrian-American singer, diseuse, and actress, long based in the United States. In the German-speaking and classical music world, she is best ...

Carola Neher Carola Neher (born Karola Neher; 2 November 1900 – 26 June 1942) was a German actress and singer. Biography Neher was born in Munich in 1900. She started to work as a bank clerk in 1917. In the summer of 1920, she made her debut performance ...

Hilde Körber Hilde Körber (3 July 1906 – 31 May 1969) was an Austrian film actress who worked largely in the German Film Industry. She appeared in 53 films between 1930 and 1964. She was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary and died in West Berlin, West G ...

, Ernst Busch,

Ernst Deutsch Ernst Deutsch, also known as Ernest Dorian (16 September 1890 – 22 March 1969), was a Jewish Austrian actor. In 1916, his performance as the protagonist in the world première of Walter Hasenclever's Expressionist play '' The Son'' in Dresde ...

Kurt Gerron Kurt Gerron (11 May 1897 – 28 October 1944) was a German Jewish actor and film director. He and his wife, Olga were murdered in the Holocaust. Life Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he studied medicine before being ca ...

Theo Lingen Theo Lingen (; 10 June 1903 – 10 November 1978), born Franz Theodor Schmitz, was a German actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 230 films between 1929 and 1978, and directed 21 films between 1936 and 1960. Life and c ...

, and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

. With the

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

takeover in 1933, the theatre declined and was finally closed in 1944.

Veit Harlan Veit Harlan (22 September 1899 – 13 April 1964) was a German film director and actor. Harlan reached the highpoint of his career as a director in the Nazi era; most notably his antisemitic film '' Jud Süß'' (1940) makes him controversia ...

made his directoral debut there in 1935 with Wolfgang Böttcher's musical comedy '' Marriage on the Panke''. Reopened after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the theatre was finally taken over by Bertolt Brecht. Today, it is considered one of the most glamorous theatres in Germany and the building is currently undergoing

historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

References

External links

Berliner Ensemble official website
Theatres in Berlin 1892 establishments in Germany {{Berlin-struct-stub