Volksbühne Berlin – Matthias Lilienthal: Well -known feelings, mixed faces

The history of the Berlin Volksbühne is a story of the crash, the scandals and intrigue. Not on stage, mind you. And no, not only since Frank Castorf’s expulsion from the director’s chair in 2017. Since the establishment of the house on today’s Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz 110 years ago Submitted to each other, one conductor followed the next.

The long outstanding decision on the successor of the suddenly deceased director René Pollesch a year ago and the quarrels surrounding the connection to the intendant made the interested audience Mürbe in previous years. In addition, no one really wanted to trust the savable Berlin cultural senator Joe Chialo (CDU) to sign the right one or the right one. The theater seems strange to him.

Now the waiting has come to an end. On Thursday, the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion invited to the following day to proclaim the decision. “The short -term invitation,” said the letter, “lies in the nature of the matter”. But now we all know more: Matthias Lilienthal, certainly no stranger in Berlin, should steer the fortunes on Luxembourg-Platz.

Chialo had previously used a consultant committee that consisted of the theater maker and festival manager Milo Rau, the director and director Kay Voges, the director and dramaturge (with a popular stage) Beate Heine and the head of the youth club of the Volksbühne Vanessa UNICAA and which unanimously became the personnel Lilienthal has known. The cultural senator spoke of “good news for the house, for the city and for all theater fans all over Germany and Europe.” Maybe a little too high?

Lilienthal, who comes from West Berlin, hired after the first theater experiences in Vienna and Basel in the 1990s as a dramaturge on the Volksbühne under Frank Castorf. At the beginning of the nineties, he became director of the Hau Berlin before switching to the Munich chamber games in his own function. If he will start his new position with the 2026/27 season, he will be 66 years old.

The question of the future of the Volksbühne is also strongly charged because this house is a political heritage because it is considered a symbol of East German resistance and because here also artistic traditions – piscator! Besson! Castorf! – have inscribed. Lilienthal’s artistic connections are more likely to be in performance art. He is considered a advocate of the free scene. And he was also one of the few who had the call as a supporter of Chris Dercons, the unworthy successor to Frank Castorf, who, after hardly half a season, stroked the sail again.

For the Volksbühne, Lilienthal has announced an “Artistic Board” as a kind of extended artistic direction, which will consist of choreographer Florentina Holzinger (who is already working on the house) and Marlene Monteiro Freitas. Holzinger made it known that she initially applied for the post as an director, but then withdrawn the application. She didn’t want to do this at the moment. No other than in Berlin’s cultural business, you don’t comment anywhere so openly and at the same time.

So the dance becomes a fixture on the house. Lilienthal speaks of making a third of the program. He also promises cooperation with the Polish director łukasz Twarkowski. He suggested that Castorf at the time in countless productions to bring Dostojewski onto the stage. Twarkowski said reservations that Dostojewski was the pioneer of Putin. Finally, they had agreed to deal with this fact artistically. One already suspects that in the worst case, a lot of political murmur and literary semi -knowledge will be expected.

Lilienthal would also like to hire the Solothurn Stefan Kaegi, known as part of the theater collective Rimini Protocol. And because he wants to build a children’s parliament at the Schauspielhaus Zurich this year and the future director knows the state of mind in the capital and from Swiss and West Berlin perspective, East Germans are probably only large children, there should be an East German at the Volksbühne under his artistic direction Give parliament.

The striving of the designated stage manager can be felt: new artists should be found, but the already known should remain. The dance should find its place, but the spectacle is still central. New ways should be followed, but paths that have already been taken – such as that of Dostojewski – should not be given up. International names should be on the schedule, and perhaps diligently dealt with East Germany. In any case, there will be dispute around the Volksbühne, so much is clear.