Roland Schimmelpfennig (born 19 September 1967) is a German theatre director and playwright. His plays are performed in more than 40 countries.

Biography

Schimmelpfennig was born in Gottingen. He began his career as a journalist in Istanbul, but starting in 1990 he studied at the

Otto Falckenberg School of the Performing Arts The Otto Falckenberg Schule – Fachakademie für darstellende Kunst der Landeshauptstadt München, or Otto Falckenberg School of the Performing Arts, is a higher education academy in Munich training actors and directors, affiliated to the Mün ...

to be a theatre director. He is one of Germany's most prolific playwrights, widely praised in Europe but relatively obscure in the United States. His work is said to vary from "kaleidoscopic" and dreamlike to naturalistic. He lives in the Eastern part of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with his wife. Two of his plays, translated as Push Up and The Woman Before, have been performed at the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

in London. His play ''Ant Street'' was staged as part of Volta International Festival at the

Arcola Theatre Arcola Theatre is in the London Borough of Hackney. It presents plays, operas and musicals featuring established and emerging artists. The theatre building, in the former Colourworks paint factory on Ashwin Street, Dalston, houses two studio ...

in 2015. He wrote the libretto for the opera ''

Der goldene Drache ''Der goldene Drache'' (''The Golden Dragon'') is an opera by Hungarian composer Péter Eötvös to a libretto by Roland Schimmelpfennig, based on his play of the same name. It premiered on 29 June 2014 at the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt, co ...

'' by Péter Eötvös, composed and premiered in 2014, based on his 2010 play. Schimmelpfennig's debut novel, ''An einem klaren eiskalten Januarmorgen zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts'' was translated into English by

Jamie Bulloch Jamie Bulloch (born 6 September 1969) is a British historian and translator of German literature, with over fifty published titles to his name, and twice winner of the Schlegel-Tieck prize. Life and work Bulloch was born at East Dulwich Hospital ...

and published by

MacLehose Press Quercus is a formerly independent publishing house, based in London, that was acquired by Hodder & Stoughton in 2014. It was founded in 2004 by Mark Smith and Wayne Davies. Quercus is known for its lists in crime (publishing such authors as El ...

in 2018 as ''One Clear, Ice-Cold January Morning at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century''. Schimmelpfennig's work has been presented on BBC Radio, most recently the International Arts Production of ''Black Water'' on BBC Radio 3.

Awards

*2010

Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis Mülheimer Dramatikerpreis ("dramatist award of Mülheim"), founded in 1976, is one of the leading theater awards in Germany. It is awarded by an open jury of theater professionals, critics and playwrights who watch a short list of productions dur ...

*2010

Else Lasker-Schüler Dramatist Prize Since 1993, the Else Lasker-Schüler Dramatist Prize () has been awarded by the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern on behalf of the Rhineland-Palatinate Foundation for Culture. The prize is named after expressionist poet Else Lasker-Schüler (1869–194 ...

*2009 and 2002

Nestroy Theatre Prize The Nestroy Theatre Prize is an Austrian theatre award named after the poet Johann Nestroy. In 2000, the city of Vienna decided to combine two less noticed theatre awards: the Kainz Medal and the Nestroy Ring for Viennese Satire. The prize honours ...

References

German theatre directors German musical theatre librettists German radio writers Writers from Göttingen 1967 births Living people German male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 21st-century German dramatists and playwrights {{germany-playwright-stub