The Thalia Theater is one of the three state-owned theatres in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It was founded in 1843 by Charles Maurice Schwartzenberger and named after the

muse In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

Thalia. Today, it is home to one of Germany's most famous ensembles and stages around 9 new plays per season. Current theatre manager is Joachim Lux, who in 2009/10 succeeded Ulrich Khuon. In addition to its main building, located in the street ''Raboisen'' in the

Altstadt ''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...

quarter near the

Binnenalster Binnenalster () or Inner Alster Lake is one of two artificial lakes within the city limits of Hamburg, Germany, which are formed by the river Alster (the other being the Außenalster). The main annual festival is the ''Alstervergnügen''. The la ...

and

Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz Gerhart-Hauptmann-Platz (''Gerhart Hauptmann Square'') is a central square in Altstadt quarter, Hamburg, Germany. The former Pferdemarkt (''Horse Market'') is located at the junction of the streets of Mönckebergstraße, Spitalerstraße and Alster ...

in Hamburg's inner city, the theatre operates a smaller stage, used for experimental plays, the Thalia in der Gaußstraße, located in the borough of

Altona Altona may refer to: Places Australia * Altona Beach, in Altona, Victoria, Australia * Altona Meadows, Victoria, Australia * Altona North, Victoria, Australia * Altona, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia ** Altona railway station ** Al ...

Plays

In October 1991

Ruth Berghaus Ruth Berghaus (2 July 1927 – 25 January 1996) was a German choreographer, opera and theatre director, and artistic director. Life and career Berghaus was born in Dresden and studied Expressionist dance and Dance direction with Gret Palucca th ...

directed

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

's ''

In The Jungle of Cities ''In the Jungle of Cities'' (German language, German: ''Im Dickicht der Städte'') is a play (theatre), play by the Germany, German Modernism, modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. Written between 1921 and 1924, it received its first theatrical p ...

'' (German: ''Im Dickicht der Städte'') as part of a series of 'related texts', as she called them (which also included Büchner's ''

Danton's Death ''Danton's Death'' (''Dantons Tod'') was the first play written by Georg Büchner, set during the French Revolution. History Georg Büchner wrote his works in the period between Romanticism and Literary realism, Realism in the so-called Vormär ...

'').Meech (1994, 54).

Performed by the ensemble in 2006

;Thalia Theater *'' Sommergäste'' by

Maxim Gorki Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (; ), was a Russian and Soviet writer and proponent of socialism. He was nominated five times for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Before his success as an auth ...

*''Quixote in der Stadt'' *'' Die schmutzigen Hände'' (Dirty Hands) by

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

*''Das Versprechen'' by Armin Petras, inspired by

Friedrich Dürrenmatt Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant- ...

*''Ein Mitsommernachtstraum'' (''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'') by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

*''

Buddenbrooks ''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in th ...

'' by

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

, edited by

John von Düffel John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Ep ...

*''

Die Jungfrau von Orleans ''The Maid of Orleans'' (, ) is a tragedy by Friedrich Schiller, premiered on 11 September 1801 in Leipzig. During his lifetime, it was one of Schiller's most frequently-performed pieces. Plot The play loosely follows the life of Joan of Arc. I ...

'' by

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

*''

Effi Briest ''Effi Briest'' () is a realist novel by Theodor Fontane. Published in book form in 1895, ''Effi Briest'' marks both a watershed and a climax in the poetic realism of literature. It can be thematically compared to other novels on 19th-century m ...

'' by

Theodor Fontane Theodor Fontane (; 30 December 1819 – 20 September 1898) was a German novelist and poet, regarded by many as the most important 19th-century German-language Literary realism, realist author. He published the first of his novels, for which he i ...

*''

Penthesilea Penthesilea () was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by Achilles or Neoptolemus. The ...

'' by

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (; 18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''The Prince of Homburg'', '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' ...

, in cooperation with the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

*''Rose Bernd'' by

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of Naturalism (literature), literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into h ...

*''Lulu'' by

Frank Wedekind Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German playwright. His work, which often criticizes bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate expressionism and was influential in the developme ...

*''Der Bus (Das Zeug einer Heiligen]'' by

Lukas Bärfuss Lukas Bärfuss (born 30 December 1971) is a Swiss writer and playwright who writes in German. He won the Georg Büchner Prize in 2019. Biography Born in Thun, Switzerland in 1971, Lukas Bärfuss began training as a bookseller after graduating f ...

*''Mnozil Brass'' *''

Minna von Barnhelm ''Minna von Barnhelm or the Soldiers' Happiness'' (, ) is a ''lustspiel'' or comedy by the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. It has five acts, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1767 – its author put the year 1763 on the official title ...

'' (Minna of Barnhelm) by

Gotthold Ephraim Lessing Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (; ; 22 January 1729 – 15 February 1781) was a German philosopher, dramatist, publicist and art critic, and a representative of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the dev ...

*''Klein Zaches genannt Zinnober'' by Stefan Moskov, inspired by

E.T.A. Hoffmann Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist.Penrith Goff, "E.T.A. Hoffmann" in ...

*''Ulrike Maria Stuart'' by

Elfriede Jelinek Elfriede Jelinek (; born 20 October 1946) is an Austrian playwright and novelist. She is one of the most decorated authors to write in German and was awarded the 2004 Nobel Prize in Literature for her "musical flow of voices and counter-voices ...

;Thalia in der Gaußstraße Performed by the theatre's ensemble in 2006 *''Café Umberto'' by Moritz Rinke *''Zeit zu Lieben Zeit zu Sterben'' by Fritz Kater *''Dies ist kein Liebeslied'' by Karen Duve *''Das Ende vom Anfang'' by

Seán O'Casey Seán O'Casey ( ; born John Casey; 30 March 1880 – 18 September 1964) was an Irish dramatist and memoirist. A committed socialist, he was the first Irish playwright of note to write about the Dublin working classes. Early life O'Casey was ...

*''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

'' by

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

*''Liebesruh'' by Jan Neumann *'' Bartleby, der Schreiber'' by

Herman Melville Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...

*''Sauerstoff'' by Iwan Wyrypajew *''Norway.Today'' by Igor Bauersima *''WE ARE CAMERA/JASONMATERIAL'' by Fritz Kater *''Limited Edition: Das Wunder von St. Georg'' by Peer Paul Gustavsson *''Ware Liebe'' *''Hinter euren Zäunen'' *''Durchgebrannt'' by Ursula Rani Sarma *''Kick & Rush'' by Andri Beyeler *''Abalon, One Nite in Bangkok'' by Fritz Kater *''Z'' by Nino Haratischwili *''Mein Kampf'' by

George Tabori George Tabori ( György Tábori; 24 May 1914 – 23 July 2007) was a Hungarian writer and theatre director. Life and career Tabori was born in Budapest as György Tábori, a son of Kornél (Cornelius) and Elsa Tábori. He was raised as a Catho ...

Criticism for pro-Russian activities

In 2022, during the Russian war against Ukraine, the theater drew strong criticism from the Ukrainian community of Germany for showing a play by the Russian playwright Kirill Serebrennikov which glamourizes the genocide, whitewashes Russian war crimes and equates the victims with the criminals.

Notes

References

* Meech, Tony. 1994. "Brecht's Early Plays." In Thomson and Sacks (1994, 43–55). * Thomson, Peter and Glendyr Sacks, eds. 1994. ''The Cambridge Companion to Brecht''. Cambridge Companions to Literature Ser. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .

External links

Thalia Theater
Theatres in Hamburg Buildings and structures in Hamburg-Mitte Tourist attractions in Hamburg {{Hamburg-struct-stub