Theater landscapes

With a newly assembled ensemble, the artistic director and his team of dramaturges are looking for a political confrontation with the present in classical texts and in works by a new generation of authors, thus understanding theater as a place of social self-assurance.

The Münchner Kammerspiele was founded in 1911 as a private theater and began its work a year later in the Münchner Lustspielhaus on Augustenstraße.
In the 1920s, the Kammerspiele was regarded as the most important stage outside of Berlin, attracting greats such as Heinz Rühmann and Bertholt Brecht.
Under the artistic director Otto Falckberg, who was in office from 1917 to 1944, the theater moved to the newly renovated Schauspielhaus in Maximilianstraße in 1926.
Built by Richard Riemerschmid in 1901, the Art Nouveau building with its intimate auditorium despite its 720 seats created a close relationship between actors and audience and has remained the home of the Münchner Kammerspiele to this day.

The period after 1945 was characterized by the directors Erich Engel, Hans Schweikart, August Everding, Hans-Reichard Müller and the 25-year tenure of Dieter Dorn.
His work and the top-class ensemble of actors made the Kammerspiele one of the most important theaters in the Federal Republic of Germany.
In 1971, under the direction of Reinhard Riemerschid, the Schauspielhaus was thoroughly renovated for the first time.
Parts of the audience areas were redesigned using Art Nouveau elements.
Since the last performance in the Schauspielhaus on December 31, 1999, the Kammerspiele has been closed for renovation work.
While preserving the listed building, the partially dilapidated building fabric was thoroughly overhauled and the outdated stage technology and infrastructure of the theater were renewed.
Since the reopening on March 29, 2003, artistic director Frank Baumbauer has wanted to lead the theater to new artistic shores after the end of the long, successful era under Dieter Dorn.