Producer
Leopold Hoesch
Director
Niels Negendank
Producer
Nicholas von Brauchitsch
Genre
Culture
Broadcaster
ZDFtheaterkanal / 3sat / ZDFdokukanal / arte
Length
1 x 30'
Editor
Tom Weichenhain
Year
2004
Theatrescapes
Schauspielhaus Bochum

In the afternoon to the VfL, in the evening to the Schauspielhaus, that's the motto in Bochum. The "pearl in the district" is also home to one of the most important pearls of German theatre: the Schauspielhaus Bochum is strongly rooted in its city, and the citizens of Bochum take a lively interest in events and decisions concerning the theatre.

Since its founding in 1919, the Schauspielhaus has been one of Germany's best-known theatres. In the first decades, the young stage owed this reputation above all to the classic performances of artistic director Saladin Schmitt. In the so-called "Bochum style", decorative and splendid performances were created, with the drama text at the centre. With his successor Hans Schalla, artistic director from 1949 to 1972, it remains a focal point of Bochum theatre work, although more modern interpretations of the material come to the fore. The following artistic directors Peter Zadek, Claus Peymann, Frank-Patrick Steckel and Leander Haußmann did not continue this theatrical competition, but with their ensembles and their different artistic focuses they repeatedly caused a sensation, even beyond the region. Matthias Hartmann has been artistic director of the Schauspielhaus since the beginning of the 2000/01 season.

In the anniversary season "50 years of the new Schauspielhaus Bochum", Esther Schweins presents the renowned stage in the Ruhr region. In addition to archive material and production excerpts, the film also shows previously unreleased footage of Claus Peymann as a protesting squatter in the early 1980s. The actors Gisela Uhlen, Hermann Lause and Traugott Buhre emphasise the supra-regional importance of the theatre in their statements. Esther Schweins also visits the small "corner shop" opposite the theatre and learns a few things about the habits of the actors and directors of the Bochum Schauspielhaus.

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