The Berliner Ensemble

Perhaps the most influential individual theatrical space and theatre company of the Twentieth Century. It was set up by the playwright Bertholt Brecht and his wife the actor Helene Weigel in 1949 in the ruins of a war-damaged East Berlin . Financed by the government of the DDR, it was the culmination of their sixteen frustrating and impoverished years as refugees from Hitler's Germany. It was also their opportunity to demonstrate what they intended by their Epic Theatre.

Related Topics:
Bertholt Brecht - Helene Weigel - East Berlin - DDR - Hitler - Epic Theatre

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After Brecht's death in 1956, the company toured internationally to almost universal critical acclaim. It radically affected British Theatre, particularly at the Royal Court. At that point Weigel was Artistic Director and remained so until her death in 1971.

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Despite the fall of the Berlin Wall, the company still continues today in the same building and retains much of their inheritance in its repertoire; an influence that universally informs theatre practice, theory and academic research to this day.

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Link: Berliner Ensemble: http://www.berliner-ensemble.de/

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