The (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the

Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf () is an inner-city locality of Berlin which lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new Boroughs of Berlin, borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf following Berlin's 2001 admin ...

district of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, located on the

Kurfürstendamm The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially , ; ) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevard can be considered the of Berlin and is lined with s ...

boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designed by

Erich Mendelsohn Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...

in 1928.

History

The cinema was the centrepiece of the wider ''WOGA'' housing complex, designed by Mendelsohn in a

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in ) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against German Expressionism, expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle Mannheim, Kunsthalle' ...

-styled urban development ensemble, with a shopping walkway, apartment blocks, lawns, and a tennis court in the back. It possibly was the first

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

cinema built in the world, as opposed to the Moorish, Egyptian, and baroque styles that predominated. Mendelsohn wrote a short text on his cinema, declaring 'no Baroque palaces for

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent films during the 1920s, in which he performed physical comedy and inventive stunts. He frequently ...

'. The cinema would become very influential on

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

cinema design in the 1930s. Heavily damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, it was rebuilt and re-opened and from 1969 served as a dance hall and for

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. The building's current use as a lyric-style theatre dates from the late 1970s, when the Schaubühne ensemble around Peter Stein, formerly residing on Hallesches Ufer in

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Berlin-Mitte, Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in ...

, searched for a new venue. From 1978 to 1981, the interiors were completely changed, centred on a theatre hall with adjustable spaces and no separation of audience and performers. The Schaubühne ensemble itself was founded in 1962. It became the domain of Peter Stein in 1970. Stein had sparked a theatre scandal in Munich, where he had staged

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and '' The Investigation'' and h ...

' ''Viet Nam Diskurs'', by collecting money among the theatre-goers in order to support the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

. Strongly influenced by the

Protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, which were predominantly characterized by the rise of left-wing politics, Anti-war movement, anti-war sentiment, Civil and political rights, civil rights urgency, youth C ...

and the

German student movement The West German student movement (), sometimes called the 1968 movement in West Germany (), was a left-wing social movement that consisted of mass student protests in West Germany in 1968. Participants in the movement later came to be known as ...

, his first production of Brecht's '' The Mother'', starring

Therese Giehse Therese Giehse (; 6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In ...

, immediately earned fierce protests by conservative

West Berlin West Berlin ( or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin from 1948 until 1990, during the Cold War. Although West Berlin lacked any sovereignty and was under military occupation until German reunification in 1 ...

politicians, who spoke of "communist agitation". The next year, the ensemble received the

Deutscher Kritikerpreis Deutscher Kritikerpreis was a cultural prize awarded annually by the Association of German Critics (Verband der Deutschen Kritiker e.V.) from 1951 to 2009. This award was given for outstanding contributions in the fields of architecture, the fi ...

award for the performance of Ibsen's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-Act (drama), act play in verse written in 1867 by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen. It is one of Ibsen's best known and most widely performed plays. ''Peer Gynt'' chronicles the journey of its title character fr ...

''. In the following years, the Schaubühne directed by Stein and his dramaturgical assistant

Botho Strauß Botho Strauss (; written as Botho Strauß) (born 2 December 1944) is a German playwright, novelist, and essayist. Early life His father was a chemist. After finishing his secondary education, Strauss studied German, History of the Theatre a ...

became one of the leading theatre stages in Germany. In 1999,

Thomas Ostermeier Thomas Ostermeier (born 3 September 1968, Soltau, West Germany) is a German theatre director. He currently mainly works for the Schaubühne. Ostermeier is fluent in German, French and English. Career Ostermeier began his theatrical career in 1 ...

took over as artistic director at Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin, alongside co-directors Jens Hillje and

Sasha Waltz Sasha Alexandra Waltz (born 8 March 1963, Karlsruhe) is a German choreographer, dancer and leader of the dance company Sasha Waltz and Guests. Biography Waltz is the daughter of an architect and a curator. At the age of five years she had her ...

. Waltz opened the Schaubühne under new direction with the debut of ''Körper'' (2000). With a move towards social theatre, attendance increased by 14%. Since 2000, the theatre has hosted ''

Streitraum ' ("conflict room", or "space for dispute") is a series of public panel discussions held at the Schaubühne in Berlin since January 2000. Each season focuses on a different theme from the areas of politics and society. In moderated discussions hel ...

'', a series of political public panel discussions now moderated by

Carolin Emcke Carolin Emcke (born 18 August 1967) is a German author and journalist who worked for from 1998 to 2006, often writing from areas of conflicts. From 2007 to 2014, she worked as an international reporter for . Her book ''Echoes of Violence – Lett ...

. Waltz left on the expiration of her five-year contract and reactivated her independent company Sasha Waltz & Guests, based in Berlin. Since 2005,

and Jens Hillje have been responsible for a vigorous modern orientation of Stein's former theatre, where tradition still has its place with a focus on interpretations of classic works.

Touring

Under Ostermeier and

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

Tobias Veit, Schaubühne productions have toured internationally. Australia in particular has seen Schaubühne productions since 2006. The ensemble made its Australian debut with ''Nora'' at the 2006

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

, followed by ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' at the 2008

(both under the artistic direction of

Brett Sheehy Brett Joseph Sheehy an Australian artistic director, producer and curator. He has been director of international arts festivals in Australia's state capital cities, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival, and Melbourne Festival. Early life and edu ...

). ''Hamlet'' was staged at the 2010

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January since it was established in 1977. The festival program features over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

(under the artistic direction of Lindy Hume), and ''Trust'' was performed at the 2011

Perth International Arts Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

(under the artistic direction of Shelagh Magazda). Schaubühne's ''Hedda Gabler'' appeared at the 2011

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, and the following year, ''An Enemy of the People'' was staged at the same festival (both under the artistic direction of

). All productions which have toured Australia have been directed by Ostermeier, except for ''Trust'', which was directed by Falk Richter and Anouk van Dijk.

References

* Bruno Zevi (1999) ''E. Mendelsohn – The Complete Works''. Birkhäuser Verlag

External links

Schaubühne Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaubuhne Theatres in Berlin Buildings and structures in Berlin Modernist architecture in Germany Cinemas and movie theaters in Berlin Streamline Moderne architecture Theatres completed in 1926 1926 establishments in Germany