Deutsches Theater

Its outstanding ensemble and magnificent directors have long been the trademarks of the Deutsches Theater (DT) in Berlin. Many consider the theatre, with its intimate auditorium and elegant, historical decor to be Berlin’s most beautiful venue.

Founded in 1883 by a group of well-known actors, by the time the DT came under the direction of the legendary Max Reinhardt it had the reputation of being Germany’s top stage. The main stage was built in 1850, originally for operettas. Today it has a seating capacity of 606, while the smaller »Kammerspiele«, established by Reinhardt in 1906 for modern plays, can hold 234 spectators. A combined repertory company of 40 actors performs a repertoire of 45 plays that change daily. Each season, the DT produces as many as 20 new productions.

Under the direction of Bernd Wilms since 2001, the Deutsches Theater has been able to continue its grand tradition while simultaneously developing new approaches. In particular, the DT’s four in-house directors Barbara Frey, Dimiter Gotscheff, Jürgen Gosch and Michael Thalheimer are trend setters in the world of theatre. German theatre critics named the DT »Theatre of the Year» in 2004. Jürgen Gosch’s staging of Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Michael Thalheimer’s version of Aeschylus’ The Oresteia were both invited to Berlin’s »Theatertreffen«, an annual festival which features the year’s best German-language theatre productions. Members of the DT’s ensemble, such as Nina Hoss and Ulrich Matthes have been honoured with acting awards. The theatre’s guest performances of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s Emilia Galotti (directed by Michael Thalheimer) and Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (directed by Oliver Reese), among others, have also won international prizes.