Producer

Leopold Hoesch

Direction

Jobst Knigge

Producer

Vera Bertram

Genre

Culture

Transmitter

ZDFtheaterkanal / 3sat / ZDFdokukanal

Length

1 x 30'

Editor

Year

2002

Theater landscapes

Freie Volksbühne Berlin

Just a few minutes' walk from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin lies a quiet, green oasis.
Hidden in the middle of the park-like grounds is the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the former Freie Volksbühne Berlin.

A theater with an eventful history that is primarily associated with the productions of director Erwin Piscator, born in 1893.
Alongside Max Reinhardt and Fritz Kortner, Piscator is considered one of the most innovative theater directors of the interwar period.
The Freie Volksbühne was founded in 1890 as a visitors' organization to enable working-class people to attend the theater regularly.
The organization still exists today, even if it now serves more educational purposes.

During the Second World War, the theater was almost completely destroyed. In the 1950s, it was rebuilt according to designs by architect Hans Richter and in 1963, a new building was erected by Prof. Fritz Bornemann in Scharperstraße.
Erwin Piscator returned to the Volksbühne as artistic director in 1962.
Alongside Erwin Piscator, the history of the theater is linked to illustrious names such as Hans Neuenfels, Luc Bondy, Peter Zadek and Andrea Breth.

In 1993, the city of Berlin cut the subsidies and after the failed attempts of private musical operators to stage the theater, the association had to sell it to a private investor in 1999.
Today, the theater is being used again and has been the home of Berliner Festspiele GmbH, the main venue for the Theatertreffen Berlin, since 2001.

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