Thomas Ostermeier: Reinventing Directors’ Theatre at the Schaubühne Berlin

On the occasion of the performance of Ostermeier’s 2012 Schaubühne production of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People (Ein Volksfeind) at the Barbican London (24-28 September 2014), we invite you to take part in an International Symposiumpresented by:

European Theatre Research Network (ETRN) / University of Kent, University of Essex, University of Birmingham, Université de Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle, Goethe-Institut London, Institut Français & French Embassy London, Schaubühne Berlin and Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London

Thursday 25 & Friday 26 September 2014

Venues: Barbican Centre London (Thursday, from 5.30 pm) & Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (all day Friday) – 62-64 Eton Avenue, London NW3 3HY

Conference Programme includes

  • Keynote Talk by Thomas Ostermeier
  • Panel “Making Theatre at the Schaubühne“ with Thomas Ostermeier’s regular collaborators Jan Pappelbaum (set designer) and Florian Borchmeyer (dramaturg), hosted by designer Chloe Lamford and playwright Duncan Macmillan
  • Keynote “Ostermeier in France” by Professor Frédéric Maurin, Université de Paris Sorbonne Nouvelle
  • Performance Visit “Ein Volksfeind”, directed by Thomas Ostermeier, Barbican Theatre, on the evening of 25 September 2014 (conference fee includes theatre ticket), followed by a post-performance discussion
  • Acting Ostermeier – A Panel with Schaubühne actors performing in Ein Volksfeind, hosted by Andrew Haydon (theatre critic) and Ramin Gray (theatre director, ‘The Events’ e.a.)
  • Papers and Discussions
  • All details will be confirmed 1st July 2014 when the conference registration opens.


Call for Papers

We invite your proposals for academic papers of 20 minutes, as well as proposals for contributions for an edited volume on Ostermeier. The following topics may act as a guideline of themes we would like to explore at the symposium and in the book:

• Ostermeier’s work: his productions of Ibsen, Shakespeare, Kane and other classical and contemporary authors • Ostermeier’s aesthetics: his work in the context of German Regietheater • Ostermeier’s method: his directorial practice • Ostermeier’s politics: the Schaubühne as a political theatre • Ostermeier abroad: his reception in different theatre systems and traditions • Ostermeier’s collaborators: his actors, designer(s), and others

Please send abstracts of max. 300 words by 15 JUNE 2014 to all three symposium conveners / editors: