Komödie am Kurfürstendamm
Traditional boulevard theatre
The Komödie am Kurfürstendamm is one of Germany’s most renowned boulevard theatres and has long stood for sophisticated entertainment with star-studded casts. Even without a permanent venue, it remains a key fixture of Berlin’s cultural scene, presenting its diverse programme of comedies, shows and adaptations of international hits at changing locations across the city.
The Komödie am Kurfürstendamm is synonymous with sophisticated and entertaining popular theatre that is ‘right on the pulse of the times’. The varied programme features comedies, shows, concerts and musicals: classic and modern, serious and hilarious. Closely rooted in the theatre is the Thalbach acting dynasty, who most recently shone together on stage with Katharina, Anna and Nellie in the play *The Glass Menagerie *.
The Komödie am Kurfürstendamm stands for sophisticated and entertaining popular theatre “at the cutting edge” and, although it currently has no permanent venue, ranks among Germany’s finest venues for high-quality, metropolitan entertainment theatre. The varied programme features comedies, popular plays, shows, concerts and musicals: classic and modern, serious and hilarious – often staged with a star-studded cast. For many film and television actors and actresses, the Kudamm stage has long since become an artistic home. Closely rooted in the theatre is, for example, the Thalbach acting dynasty, who were most recently seen together on stage as Katharina, Anna and Nellie in the play *The Glass Menagerie*.
During the Christmas season, there are also plays for children, and it brings together
100 years of theatre history
The historic theatre was founded in 1924 by Max Reinhardt on Kurfürstendamm. Since 1950, it has been run continuously by the Woelffer family. For over a century, the Komödie has remained true to its commitment to offering sophisticated entertainment, even though the programme has repeatedly made room for more serious material. To this day, it is characterised by a mix of German premieres of international plays, stage adaptations of well-known films, and classics of comedy literature.
The demolition of the original building on Kurfürstendamm in 2018 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the theatre’s history. Until the end of 2022, theatre director Martin Woelffer and his team used the Schiller Theater as a temporary home, followed by the Theater am Potsdamer Platz until May 2025. Since 2024, the Komödie has also been staging performances at the Ernst-Reuter-Saal in Reinickendorf, and from summer 2025 at the Neues Haus des Berliner Ensembles. At the same time, a new theatre building is being constructed on Kurfürstendamm, which the Komödie will once again use as its permanent home upon completion.
Modern and Classical
Long-standing director Jürgen Wölffer handed over the reins to his son Martin in 2004. Martin has carefully modernised the programme whilst preserving the theatre’s tradition. Productions such as *Männerhort*, *Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?* and *The 39 Steps* have attracted new audiences without losing sight of the theatre’s regulars. “It is a pleasure for us when we succeed in breathing new life into classics. At the same time, we are always delighted to premiere modern entertainment theatre,” explains the management.
To this day, the Kudamm-Bühnen are proud to bring numerous English, French, American and Italian comedies to the stage in German for the first time, thereby allowing Berlin audiences to experience international material in a fresh way.
