The fact that it was able to open in 1983 was due to the need of actors, directors and dramaturges of the Bavarian State Theatre for artistic engagement with the Bavarian-Austrian folk theatre tradition. The public also played a significant role in the renovation and redesign of the former multi-purpose hall, as the majority of the construction costs were financed by private donations.

In the first five years under the directorship of Jörg-Dieter Haas, it was mainly the well-known folk actors, including Gustl Bayrhammer, Beppo Brem, Helmut Fischer, Karl Obermayr, Enzi Fuchs and Maria Singer, who made the theatre so attractive. But no name is as closely associated with the theatre as that of Ruth Drexel. The theatre opened in 1983 with her production of Karl Schönherr's "Glaube und Heimat" (Faith and Homeland). From 1988 to 2002, Ruth Drexel directed the theatre with a small interruption, with the main focus of the repertoire being the classical folk theatre tradition. However, through the sometimes very close collaboration with formative authors of the critical folk theatre play such as Peter Turrini, Martin Sperr, Felix Mitterer and Franz Xaver Kroetz, the contemporary connection was always sought.

Christian Stückl, the new artistic director, opened in October 2002 with Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus". Stückl, who comes from an Alpine village, was in-house director at the Munich Kammerspiele for many years, staged the Oberammergau Passion Play and last year the "Jedermann" in Salzburg. His main concern is to show traditions in a way that is close to the people and understandable, while trying to avoid the proximity of beer-swilling comedy nobility.

"I want people to be able to go to the theatre and follow a story the moment it's dark in the room."
Christian Stückl