When I attended the press conference in June last year, we were still living in a normal world – people could go to the theatre without worrying about social distancing or crowds. This year the corona pandemic has made this almost impossible. Bavaria was the worst affected state in Germany, so lockdown regulations were stricter here than in the rest of the country. However, although social distancing rules are still in place, theatres will be allowed to open their doors to the public again this month. Matthias Lilienthal will start the remainder of his final season in Munich with two premieres that were originally planned for April and are now scheduled to take place on June 15^th– the immersive installation Oracle where Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selg explore the transformative power of paradoxes with the help of artificial intelligence, and the world premiere of WUNDE R by Enis Maci, directed by Felix Rothenhäusler. There will be a farewell ceremony with the entire ensemble and the staff at the Olympic Stadium on July 17^th.

Continue reading

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kammerspiele have been closed and it is uncertain when theatres in Munich will reopen. The current restrictions include the Easter holidays, which will end on 19th April, but there might be an extension. Like other theatres, the Kammerspiele provide streams of their productions via Kammer 4.

Courtesy of Judith Buss.

Continue reading

After his rather unsuccessful venture Caspar Western Friedrich, director Philippe Quesne returns to the Münchner Kammerspiele with a pastoral set in a dystopian future. Humanity has finally succeeded in destroying itself. Only four scarecrows remain on a farm, archivists of the past who run their own radio station.

Courtesy of Martin Argyroglo.

Continue reading

Having recently directed Ryan Trecartin’s The Re’Search and Eugène Labiche’s Trüffel Trüffel Trüffel at the Kammerspiele, Felix Rothenhäusler returns for his adaptation of Lars von Trier‘s apocalyptic film Melancholia (2011).

Courtesy Armin Smailovic

Continue reading

Little did I know when attending the press conference in June, that the Münchner Kammerspiele would be voted “Theatre of the Year 2019” by the critics of the highly esteemed theatre magazine “Theater heute” only two months later. “Theater heute” also chose the impressive 10-hour production Dionysos Stadt by Christopher Rüping as “Production of the Year”and Nils Kahnwald as “Actor of the Year” for the same production. Best newcomer awards went to Kammerspiele ensemble members Gro Swantje Kohlhof and Benjamin Radjaipour. Lena Newton‘s stage design for Susanne Kennedy’s adaptation of Three Sisters was also considered the year’s best work. A triumph for Artistic Director Matthias Lilienthal who presented his final season at the Kammerspiele.

Continue reading

Born in Jerusalem in 1976, Yael Ronen is one of the most intriguing directors of her generation. Hakaoh Berlin, developed at Schauspielhaus Graz, was awarded the Austrian Nestroy Theatre Prize in 2013. Common Ground, a meditation on the aftermath of the war in former Yugoslavia, was invited to the renowned Theatertreffen Festival at Berlin and won the audience award at Mülheimer Theatertage in 2015. Her production The Situation at Gorki Theatre was invited to the Theatertreffen in 2016.

Courtesy of David Baltzer.

Continue reading

Sheffield based Forced Entertainment was founded in 1984 and consists of Artistic Director Tim Etchells, Designer / Performer Richard Lowdon, and performers Robin Arthur, Claire Marshall, Cathy Naden, and Terry O’Connor. The company’s provocative performance style, for example, in Speak Bitterness or Quizoola, has vastly influenced a whole generation of British, European, and North-American theatre artists. in 2016, Forced Entertainment received the Ibsen Award, the most renowned theatre award in Europe, and in 2017, their production Real Magic was invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen as one of the ten outstanding productions in the German-speaking world.

Continue reading

This is a perfect extraction;  after outsourcing a part of my mind into my book, I have now outsourced my body, too, and can let it do tours and all the unpleasant stuff.

Tonight writer Thomas Melle is holding a lecture on instability. However, the speaker is not Thomas Melle himself but a copy in the shape of a humanoid robot. Stefan Kaegi of Rimini Protokoll, an award-winning  company focusing on documentary theatre, explores the consequences of putting a humanoid robot on stage. What are the reactions of Thomas Melle himself and of the audience? Can this kind of performance still be described as “theatre”?

Courtesy of Gabriela Neeb.

Continue reading

Director Christopher Rüping had always felt detached from ancient Greek drama. The chorus, the language, and the role of fate created an artificial world that had nothing to do with our reality. When watching Greek drama, he found that he began to be engaged by the play only when it was almost over. When those dramas were written, they were presented at the Dionysia, a drama competition (Agon) that went on for five days. Dionysia were ecstatic festivals with free wine and free food, starting early in the morning and going on until late at night. Christopher Rüping knew he could not recreate the Dionysia but he decided to be bold and to present a tetralogy, composed of three dramas and one satyr play. Ten hours of theatre would allow his antique drama to unfold.

Courtesy of Julian Baumann.

Continue reading

Morning in Byzantium is the second Kammerspiele Production by New York director and choreographer Trajal Harrell. Whereas Juliet & Romeo focused on youthful death, Morning in Byzantium sees the end of life as only one of various possibilities, and the director chooses life.

Courtesy of Orpheas Emirzas.

Continue reading