Deutsches Theater Berlin

– © Arno Declair

The highly acclaimed ensemble of the Deutsches Theater Berlin has been at home in this elegant building with its classicist façade since 1883. In earlier times, the Friedrich-Wilhelmstadt theatre staged mostly comedy and operetta. With the founding of the Deutsches Theater Berlin by theatre critic Adolph L’Arronge, the Schumannstrasse-location increasingly added high-quality spoken theatre - a concept that has been continued successfully to the present day.

Classic plays by William Shakespeare, Frank Wedekind or Gerhart Hauptmann are part of the repertoire of the German Theatre, as are premieres of contemporary dramatics, like Dea Loher, Lukas Bärfuss and Roland Schimmelpfennig. Numerous productions at the Deutsches Theater Berlin have been invited for guest performances at the Berlin Theatre Meeting and have received international recognition. The theatre itself was named ‘Theatre of the Year’ in 2005 and 2008 by the insider magazine ‘Theater Heute’.

In addition to its important directors like Andreas Kriegenburg, Stephan Kimmig or Michael Thalheimer, this theatre is also famous for its outstanding ensemble. Corinna Harfouch, Nina Hoss, Ulrich Matthes and Bernd Stempel are just some of the well-known actors from the permanent ensemble of the Deutsches Theater Berlin.

The main stage is located in the Grand House and offers seating for 600. The chamber theatre, which was initiated by Max Reinhard, the theatre’s artistic director in 1906, has room for another 230 guests for smaller-scale productions. The foyer of the chamber theatre offers an additional 80 seats in the 'Black Box' which was opened in 2006. Here is where young directors present contemporary productions with modern forms of expression in more intimate surroundings.