Thomas Brasch (19 February 1945 – 3 November 2001) was a British and German

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

Life

Born in

Westow Westow is a village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Westow is situated in the lee of Spy Hill, bordering the Howardian Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from the A64 road linking Leeds to the East Coast, west of the to ...

, Yorkshire, England, Thomas Brasch was the son of

German Jew The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

ish

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social exile or self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French verb ''émigrer'' meaning "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Hugueno ...

parents. In 1947, the family returned to

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. Brasch attended school in

Cottbus Cottbus () or (;) is a university city and the second-largest city in the German state of Brandenburg after the state capital, Potsdam. With around 100,000 inhabitants, Cottbus is the most populous city in Lusatia. Cottbus lies in the Sorbian ...

. From 1956 to 1960, he was at the National People's Army Cadet School and made his ''

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

''. From 1964, he studied journalism in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

and was forced in 1965 to ex-matriculate. Since 1966 he worked at the theater Volksbühne Berlin, and studied dramaturgy at the film school

Babelsberg Babelsberg () is the largest quarter of Potsdam, the capital city of the German state of Brandenburg. The neighbourhood is named after a small hill on the Havel river. It is the location of Babelsberg Palace and Park, part of the Palaces and Park ...

afterwards. In 1968, he was relegated and sentenced to two years and three months in prison for "anti-state agitation", because of the protest against the invasion of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. In 1971, after being a miller in a Berlin factory, he worked in the Brecht archive and was then freelance writer. In 1976, after protesting against

Wolf Biermann Karl Wolf Biermann (; born 15 November 1936) is a German singer-songwriter, poet, and former East German dissident. He is perhaps best known for the 1968 song " Ermutigung" and his expatriation from East Germany in 1976. Early life Biermann was ...

's expatriation, he moved to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

. Brasch was in a relationship with the actress

Katharina Thalbach Katharina Thalbach (; actually ''Katharina Joachim genannt Thalbach''; born 19 January 1954) is a German actress and stage director. She played theater at the Berliner Ensemble and at the olksbühne Berlin and was an actress in the film ''Th ...

. Brasch died in Berlin on 3 November 2001.

UK productions

In May 2012, Brasch's play ''Lovely Rita'' was performed in English for the first time in the Warwick Arts Centre.

US productions

In November 1976, Brasch's theatre piece ''Paper Tiger'' was performed in English for the first time at the 4th International Bertolt Brecht Conference in Austin, Texas, with music composed by

Raymond Benson Raymond Benson (born 1955) is an American writer known for his James Bond novels published between 1997 and 2003. Early life and education Benson was born in Midland, Texas and graduated from Permian High School in Odessa in 1973. In primary sc ...

. Benson subsequently directed an off-off-Broadway production of the musical in New York, New York, in September 1980.

Awards

* 1981

Bavarian Film Awards The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

, Best Director * 1987

Kleist Prize The Kleist Prize is an annual German literature prize. The prize was first awarded in 1912, on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Heinrich von Kleist. The Kleist Prize was the most important literary award of the Weimar Rep ...

Publications

* "''Sie geht, sie geht nicht''", play, 1970 * "''Das beispielhafte Leben und der Tod des Peter Göring''", play, with Lothar Trolle, 1971 * "''Galileo Galilei – Papst Urban VIII.''", play, with Lothar Trolle, 1972 * "''Der Schweinehirt. Die wilden Schwäne''", two radio plays by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, Berlin 1975 * "''Vom dicken Herrn Bell, der das Telefon erfunden hat''", radio play, Berlin 1974 * "''Herr Geiler''", play, 1974 * "''Lovely Rita''", play, 1975 * "''Poesiealbum 89''", Berlin 1975 * "''Die argentinische Nacht''", comedy based on ''Oswaldo Dragún'', Berlin 1975 * "''Vor den Vätern sterben die Söhne''", prose, Berlin 1977 * "''Kargo. 32. Versuch auf einem untergehenden Schiff aus der eigenen Haut zu fahren''", Frankfurt (Main) 1977 * "''Rotter. Und weiter. Ein Tagebuch, ein Stück, eine Aufführung.''", Frankfurt (Main) 1978 * "''Der schöne 27. September''", poetry, Frankfurt (Main) 1980 * "''Engel aus Eisen''", book based on film, Frankfurt (Main) 1981 * "''Der König vor dem Fotoapparat''", children's book, Olten 1981 * "''Domino''", book based on film, Frankfurt (Main) 1982 * "''Anton Tschechows Stücke''", translated by Thomas Brasch, Frankfurt (Main) 1985 * "''Lovely Rita, Lieber Georg, Mercedes''", play, Berlin 1988 * "''Lovely Rita, Rotter, Lieber Georg''", play, Frankfurt (Main) 1989 * "''Frauen Krieg Lustspiel''", play, Frankfurt (Main) 1989 * "''Drei Wünsche, sagte der Golem''", poetry, prose and play, Leipzig 1990 * "''Mädchenmörder Brunke''", prose, Frankfurt (Main) 1999 * "''Liebe Macht Tod''", parts and materials, Frankfurt (Main) 2002 * "''Shakespeare-Übersetzungen''", Frankfurt (Main) 2002 * "''Wer durch mein Leben will, muß durch mein Zimmer''", poetry, Frankfurt (Main) 2002 * "''Was ich mir wünsche''", poetry, Frankfurt (Main) 2007 * "''Du einsamer, du schöner Wicht''", audio book, read by Katharina Thalbach and Anna Thalbach, Hoffmann&Campe 2007

Filmography

* 1981 – '' Engel aus Eisen'' – Director and screenwriter (with

Hilmar Thate Hilmar Thate (17 April 1931 – 14 September 2016) was a German actor. He appeared in 40 films and television shows between 1955 and 2016. Filmography References External links * 1931 births 2016 deaths German male film actors G ...

, Peter Brombacher, , Ulrich Wesselmann and Karin Baal). That was the first movie by Brasch. In 1981 he was awarded the

Bayerischer Filmpreis The Bavarian Film Awards () are film awards given to German films in the state of Bavaria, awarded by the state government. Background and description The Bavarian Film Awards have been awarded annually since 1979 by the state government of Bav ...

. His acceptance speech was controversial, since Brasch explicitly thanked the ''Filmhochschule der DDR'' for his education. * 1982 – ' – Director and screenwriter (with

, Bernhard Wicki,

Hanns Zischler Hanns Zischler (born 18 June 1947) is a German actor known for his cooperation with Wim Wenders's early films especially ''Kings of the Road'' (1976). Later he became an international star with his portrayal of Hans in Steven Spielberg's film ''M ...

, Anne Bennent,

Manfred Karge Manfred Karge (born March 1, 1938, in Brandenburg an der Havel) is a German dramatist. He is best known among English-speaking audiences for the staging of Brecht's "Mann ist Mann" (1926) as ''Man to Man''. From 1958 to 1961 he studied at the Ber ...

Ilse Pagé Ilse Pagé (29 May 1939 – 19 June 2017) was a German film actress, film and television actress. Selected filmography * ''Berlin, Schoenhauser Corner'' (1957) - Angela * ''Arzt aus Leidenschaft'' (1959) - Ein junges Mädchen * ''...und noch fre ...

, , Peter Brombacher, Julia Lindig) * 1985 – ''Mercedes'' – Director and screenwriter. Filming for Dutch broadcaster

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for ''Vrijzinnig Protestantse Radio Omroep'', lit. 'Liberal Protestant Radio Broadcaster', nowadays known as ''Omroepvereniging VPRO'') is a Netherlands, Dutch Public broadcasting, public broadca ...

(with Jan Eijkelboom, Annet Kouwenhoven and Titus Muizelaar) * 1988 – '' Der Passagier – Welcome to Germany'' – Director, screenwriter with

Jurek Becker Jurek Becker (; – 14 March 1997) was a Polish-born German writer, screenwriter and East German dissident. His most famous novel is ''Jacob the Liar'', which has been made into two films. He lived in Łódź during World War II for about two y ...

(with

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

Birol Ünel Birol Ünel (18 August 1961 – 3 September 2020) was a Turkish-German actor who played in German and Turkish films, television, and theatrical productions. He was perhaps best known for his role as the alcoholic Cahit Tomruk in Fatih Akin's 200 ...

, Matthias Habich, Karin Baal,

Charles Régnier Karl Friedrich Anton Hermann "Charles" Régnier"Wedekind aus Horst Kreis Neustadt am Rübenberge in Niedersachsen". In: ''Niedersächsisches Geschlechterbuch''. (Genealogical studies). Limburg an der Lahn: Verlag C. A. Starke Volume 187 (1982), ...

, Ursula Andermatt and

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 ...

)

Films about Thomas Brasch

* 1977 – ''Annäherung an Thomas Brasch'', Director: Georg Stefan Troller * 2005 – ''Skizze Thomas Brasch'', Director: Christoph Rüter * 2021 – '' Dear Thomas'', Director: Dear Thomas
Reviewed by: Amber Wilkinson, 30 Nov 2021.

References

External links

* * * The director Katharina Thalbach remembers Thomas Brasch in ''ZEIT'' September 2008. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brasch, Thomas 1945 births 2001 deaths 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights 20th-century German Jews 20th-century German poets East German dissidents East German poets East German writers German film directors German male dramatists and playwrights German male poets Kleist Prize winners Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish German writers Jewish poets People from Ryedale (district) Translators of William Shakespeare Prisoners and detainees of East Germany