We could have turned back.

The production of Eure Paläste sind leer (Your Palaces Are Empty) marks the first time a play by award-winning Austrian dramatist Thomas Köck premieres at a Munich theatre. The only dramatist to win the important Mühlheimer Dramatikpreis twice in a row, in 2018 and 2019, Köck focuses on choric theatre, his dramas resemble musical compositions and are written as continuous texts without punctuation. Eure Paläste sind leer (all we ever wanted) is his first collaboration with director Jan-Christoph Gockel, and the beginning of a long-term relationship with the Münchner Kammerspiele.

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Recently, the Kammerspiele presented the world premiere of Nora Abdel-Maksoud’s satirical play Jeeps, which she also directed. Abdel-Maksoud was born in Munich and has been writing and directing her own plays since 2012. Her darkly humorous dramas criticize the crass unfairness in our society.

Courtesy of Armin Smailovic.

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Society is formed from the sum of broken hopes. Recently, the Kammerspiele presented the world premiere of Frau Schmidt fährt über die Oder (Ms Schmidt crosses the Oder) by writer-director Anne Habermehl in their studiospace. The play is the first part of a trilogy that the author is writing for the Kammerspiele.

Courtesy of Julian Baumann.

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The Kammerspiele presented the world premiere of Heart Chamber Fragments, a production by Paper Tiger Theater Studio, an independent Chinese theatre collective. Founded by Tian Gebing in Beijing in 1997, with a branch in Berlin for the past two years, Paper Tiger includes artists from different professional backgrounds in dance, theatre, and the fine arts,who get together to develop theatre projects combining theatre, performance, and dance. As stated in the program, their focus is on the reality of everyday life and its brutal absurdity.

Courtesy of Judith Buss.

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Artistic Director Barbara Mundel started her first season at the Kammerspiele a year ago, right in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, when all theatres were closed. Productions were postponed or, if possible, streamed online. But finally, Mundel was able to present her first premiere to a live audience, a play based on Gabriele Tergit’s novel Effingers, in an adaptation by director Jan Bosse and dramaturge Viola Hasselberg. First published in 1951, the novel was not a success, but it was reissued this year and has been well received by literary critics.

Courtesy of Armin Smailovic.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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