Producer
Leopold Hoesch
Director
Dag Freyer
Producer
Vera Bertram
Genre
Culture
Broadcaster
ZDFtheaterkanal / 3sat / ZDFdokukanal
Length
1 x 30'
Editor
Philip Kießling
Year
2009
Theatrescapes
Theater Augsburg

Augsburg - one thinks of the Renaissance, the Fuggers and, of course, the Puppenkiste. The city is one of the oldest in Germany and in its heyday was also considered one of the richest and most splendid in the whole country. Less well known, however, is Augsburg as a theatre city and, believe it or not, also as a city of love.

Bertolt Brecht's relationship with his hometown cannot exactly be described as love, rather as a kind of love-hate relationship. Even as a high school student, he wrote critical reviews of performances there. But anyone who sees Brecht exclusively as an "enfant terrible" fails to recognise his romantic side. This was revealed in tender love letters to a girl from Augsburg who shared his way to school every morning, unfortunately on the other side of the street, much to Brecht's chagrin. The girl, now a lady of 80, never answered his love, but kept the letters. Something in them must have touched her - it was the young Brecht.

The theatre looked different in Brecht's day: The façade was more delicate, the interior, which today breathes 1950s Wirtschaftswunder charm, was richly decorated. But for Hitler it had to be more monumental. The décor was removed from the auditorium. In 1944, the theatre was completely destroyed and could not be reopened until 1956. Although not much has changed on the outside since then, the theatre has experienced many ups and downs. When Augsburg's fame as a textile city came to an end in the 1970s, there were even efforts to close parts of it completely.

Today, Juliane Votteler is the director of the historic theatre and deliberately focuses on the interconnectedness of the three genres: music theatre, drama and dance. For this reason, one frequently encounters rather rarely performed works in Augsburg.

Of course, these can also be found on Augsburg's most famous "stage" - the Puppenkiste. In which German theatre do such lovable characters as Urmel, Jim Knopf & Co. determine the action? Nevertheless, there is no envy or competition with the "big" stage of the Stadttheater. On the contrary, the Puppenkiste was even founded in 1948 by an actor from the City Theatre. There seems to be some potential for Juliane Votteler's intention to connect not only the theatre branches but the city as a whole more strongly.

First broadcast: 22 November 2009, 12:30 p.m., 3sat.

Theatrescapes: Theater Augsburg

Augsburg - one thinks of the Renaissance, the Fuggers and, of course, the Puppenkiste. The city is one of the oldest in Germany and in its heyday was also considered one of the richest and most splendid in the whole country. Less well known, however, is Augsburg as a theatre city and, believe it or not, also as a city of love.

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