exhibition
Karl-Heinz Drescher was one of the most important theater graphic designers in East Germany. After studying graphic design at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design in Halle, he worked for 37 years as the resident graphic designer at the Berliner Ensemble.
Image gallery
Karl-Heinz Drescher - bat im Plakat
His distinctive posters, combining text and photography, adorned the walls of buildings and advertising columns, shaping the cityscape of the capital. They were regularly awarded prizes as the best posters of the year in East Germany.
From 1978 to 1987, Drescher also designed a series of posters for studio productions at the bat. Established in the early 1960s by figures including Wolf Biermann and Brigitte Soubeyran, the Berlin Workers' and Students' Theater failed before it even opened due to cultural and political opposition. In 1974, the newly founded Institute for Dramatic Direction, headed by Manfred Wekwerth, took over the venue on Belforter Straße.
Regarding the poster series, Drescher writes: “They were intended to raise the institute’s profile in the city and clearly highlight the unique nature of its working methods. From a design perspective, this meant giving the play title the largest possible space and presenting the performance dates in a legible size—a circus act for each poster. Vignettes and a yellow background were meant to send a clear signal: This is the ‘bat’!”
To mark the renovation and reopening of the side wing, they are exhibiting posters designed by Karl-Heinz Drescher for studio productions at the bat.
Curated by Johanna Stapelfeldt as part of the project “Dramaturgies of an Archive. Studio Productions at the ‘bat’: Theater History(ies) in the New Production Archive of the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts,” funded by the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space.
- Opening: Thu, Apr 2, 1:00 PM
- bat-Studiotheater, Belforter Str. 15, 10405 Berlin
The exhibition in the foyer is only accessible in conjunction with a theater visit, 30 minutes before the performance begins. Please check the calendar for showtimes.
