
Berlin · Charlottenburg
Schaubühne
A Bauhaus-era cinema on the Kurfürstendamm, running German theatre's most exported repertoire
Thomas Ostermeier's Ibsen and Shakespeare productions, with English surtitles most nights
Erich Mendelsohn built it as a cinema in 1928, the theatre took it over in 1981 and the interior can be reconfigured into three separate stages or one long room. Under Thomas Ostermeier it became the German theatre most often invited abroad, with a repertoire of Ibsen, Shakespeare and new writing performed at a physical intensity that surprises visitors expecting something stately.
A large proportion of performances carry English surtitles, which are marked clearly in the programme and make this the most accessible serious theatre in the city for anyone who does not speak German.
The detail
Good to know
- Building
- Mendelsohn cinema, 1928
- Theatre since
- 1981
- Surtitles
- English on many performances
- Under 30
- Reduced tickets at most performances
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