The Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz (Theatre on Lehniner Square) is a famous theatre in the

Wilmersdorf Wilmersdorf (), an inner-city locality of Berlin, lies south-west of the central city. Formerly a borough by itself, Wilmersdorf became part of the new borough of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in Berlin's 2001 administrative reform. History The v ...

district of

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, located on the

Kurfürstendamm The Kurfürstendamm (; colloquially ''Ku'damm'', ; en, Prince Elector Embankment) is one of the most famous avenues in Berlin. The street takes its name from the former ''Kurfürsten'' (prince-electors) of Brandenburg. The broad, long boulevar ...

boulevard. It is a conversion of the ''Universum'' cinema, built according to plans designed by Erich Mendelsohn in 1928.

History

The cinema was the centrepiece of the wider ''WOGA'' housing complex, designed by Mendelsohn in a

New Objectivity The New Objectivity (in german: Neue Sachlichkeit) was a movement in German art that arose during the 1920s as a reaction against expressionism. The term was coined by Gustav Friedrich Hartlaub, the director of the ''Kunsthalle'' in Mannheim, wh ...

-styled urban development ensemble, with a shopping walkway, apartment blocks, lawns, and a tennis court in the back. It possibly was the first

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

cinema built in the world, as opposed to the Moorish, Egyptian, and baroque styles that predominated. Mendelsohn wrote a short text on his cinema, declaring 'no Baroque palaces for Buster Keaton'. The cinema would become very influential on Streamline Moderne cinema design in the 1930s. Heavily damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it was rebuilt and re-opened and from 1969 served as a dance hall and for musical theatre. The building's current use as a lyric-style theatre dates from the late 1970s, when the Schaubühne ensemble around Peter Stein, formerly residing on Hallesches Ufer in

Kreuzberg Kreuzberg () is a district of Berlin, Germany. It is part of the Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg borough located south of Mitte. During the Cold War era, it was one of the poorest areas of West Berlin, but since German reunification in 1990 it ha ...

, searched for a new venue. From 1978 to 1981, the interiors were completely changed, centred on a theatre hall with adjustable spaces and no separation of audience and performers. The Schaubühne ensemble itself was founded in 1962. It became the domain of Peter Stein in 1970. Stein had sparked a theatre scandal in Munich, where he had staged

Peter Weiss Peter Ulrich Weiss (8 November 1916 – 10 May 1982) was a German writer, painter, graphic artist, and experimental filmmaker of adopted Swedish nationality. He is particularly known for his plays ''Marat/Sade'' and ''The Investigation'' and hi ...

' ''Viet Nam Diskurs'', by collecting money among the theatre-goers in order to support the

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. Strongly influenced by the

Protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against state militaries and the bureaucracies. In the United States, these protests marked a turning point for the ci ...

and the German student movement, his first production of Brecht's '' The Mother'', starring

Therese Giehse Therese Giehse (; 6 March 1898 – 3 March 1975), born Therese Gift, was a German actress. Born in Munich to German-Jewish parents, she first appeared on the stage in 1920. She became a major star on stage, in films, and in political cabaret. In t ...

, immediately earned fierce protests by conservative

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politicians, who spoke of "communist agitation". The next year, the ensemble received the Deutscher Kritikerpreis award for the performance of Ibsen's '' Peer Gynt''. In the following years, the Schaubühne directed by Stein and his dramaturgical assistant Botho Strauß became one of the leading theatre stages in Germany. In 1999, Thomas Ostermeier took over as artistic director at Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz in Berlin, alongside co-directors Jens Hillje and

Sasha Waltz Sacha, Sasha, Sascha, or ''variant'' may refer to: People * Sasha (name), includes list of people with the name and the variants Sascha or Sacha Musicians * Sasha (DJ) (born 1969), born Alexander Coe * Sasha (German singer) (born 1972), born Sas ...

. Waltz opened the Schaubühne under new direction with the debut of ''Körper'' (2000). With a move towards social theatre, attendance increased by 14%. Since 2000, the theatre has hosted '' Streitraum'', a series of political public panel discussions now moderated by Carolin Emcke. Waltz left on the expiration of her five-year contract and reactivated her independent company Sasha Waltz & Guests, based in Berlin. Since 2005, Thomas Ostermeier and Jens Hillje have been responsible for a vigorous modern orientation of Stein's former theatre, where tradition still has its place with a focus on interpretations of classic works.

Touring

Under Ostermeier and intendant Tobias Veit, Schaubühne productions have toured internationally. Australia in particular has seen Schaubühne productions since 2006. The ensemble made its Australian debut with ''Nora'' at the 2006 Adelaide Festival, followed by ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' at the 2008 Adelaide Festival (both under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy). ''Hamlet'' was staged at the 2010 Sydney Festival (under the artistic direction of

Lindy Hume Lindy Hume (born 25 August 1961) is an Australian opera and festival director, who has worked throughout Australia and internationally. Early life Hume was born in the Sydney suburb of Paddington and grew up in Glebe and Annandale. Her fathe ...

), and ''Trust'' was performed at the 2011 Perth International Arts Festival (under the artistic direction of Shelagh Magazda). Schaubühne's ''Hedda Gabler'' appeared at the 2011

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

, and the following year, ''An Enemy of the People'' was staged at the same festival (both under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy). All productions which have toured Australia have been directed by Ostermeier, except for ''Trust'', which was directed by Falk Richter and Anouk van Dijk.

References

* Bruno Zevi (1999) ''E. Mendelsohn – The Complete Works''. Birkhäuser Verlag

External links

Schaubühne Berlin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaubuhne Theatres in Berlin Buildings and structures in Berlin Modernist architecture in Germany Cinemas and movie theaters in Berlin Streamline Moderne architecture Theatres completed in 1926 1926 establishments in Germany