Volksbühne

The traditional theater was founded in 1914 and built according to the plans of architect Oskar Kaufmann in Berlin’s Scheunenviertel, on Bülowplatz, today known as Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. The ambition at the time was to operate a theater for the people.

The most famous director in the early days was Max Reinhardt. During World War II, the building was severely damaged and rebuilt in its current form in the early 1950s according to designs by Hans Richter. In the 1970s, Benno Besson made his mark as artistic director. The theater underwent extensive renovation in 2009.

For a quarter-century (1992 – 2017), the Volksbühne was shaped by the Frank Castorf era. Brilliant actors like Henry Hübchen, Milan Peschel, Corinna Harfouch, and Sophie Rois, spectacular, often controversial productions, and a long-serving, highly influential artistic director – that, in short, defined the special character of the Volksbühne at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz during the Castorf period. No other artistic director influenced this stage for as long as Frank Castorf, whose era began in 1992 and ended only after a quarter-century in 2017. Well-known directors, such as the action artist Christoph Schlingensief, who died in 2010, also worked under Frank Castorf’s artistic direction. The end of the Castorf era was truly mourned by fans and theatermakers alike.

With the 2017/18 season, the Belgian curator and theater scholar Chris Dercon, former director of Tate Modern in London, took over from Castorf at the Volksbühne. With the 2017/18 season, the Belgian curator and theater scholar Chris Dercon, former director of Tate Modern in London, took over from Castorf at the Volksbühne. However, his artistic directorship remained an intermezzo and ended already in April 2018. Since mid-April, Klaus Dörr has been the interim artistic director of the Volksbühne Berlin.