Successful Conclusion of the 63rd Edition of Theatertreffen
After 17 days, the festival comes to an end tonight, Sunday, 17 May, with the sold-out performance of Der Hauptmann von Köpenick, directed by Sebastian Hartmann, at Haus der Berliner Festspiele. This afternoon, the jury of critics held a public discussion with the audience.
The festival, funded by the GermanFederal Cultural Foundation and directed by Nora Hertlein-Hull, thrilled a new audience once again: all the productions presented out of the 10 selected performances – from Theater Basel, Schauspiel Stuttgart, Volkstheater Wien, Staatstheater Cottbus, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Münchner Kammerspiele (invited with two productions), Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam and Studio Julian Hetzel in a co-production with Wiener Festwochen | Freie Republik Wien and Schauspiel Leipzig – were sold out. The international co-production A Year without Summer, directed by Florentina Holzinger, will be presented as a TT Epilogue on 10 and 11 October at Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz.
A total audience of 17,579 attended the 38 performances including events in the framing programme at Haus der Berliner Festspiele, Berliner Ensemble, Deutsches Theater Berlin, HAU Hebbel am Ufer (HAU1) and Hans Otto Theater in Potsdam. A total of 14,778 tickets were distributed, and 2,801 visitors attended the events free of charge. This represented 99,27 % of the total seating capacity.
The four recordings of “Starke Stücke” by Theatertreffen's media partner 3sat aroused great interest with over 60,000 viewings in the festival period from 1 to 17 May – on TV and via the 3sat and Berliner Festspiele Media Libraries and the ZDF streaming portal. These included the live stream of Wallenstein. A slaughter feast in seven courses from Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
153 journalists from the German-speaking region and numerous other countries – including Great Britain, France, Italy, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia, the USA and Argentina – were accredited and accompanied the festival on behalf of the media.
Drama and Discourse
The reconceived framing programme Drama and Discourse was very well received by the public. In the format Mehr Drama!, developed in conjunction with the Verband Deutscher Bühnen und Medienverlage (VDB), six aspiring contemporary dramatists presented their texts in readings and talks.
The discourse programme, with podium discussions, films and an exhibition was curated for the first time by the journalist Matthias Dell.
Principal funding for the framing programme is provided by the Federal Agency for Civic Education and the Heinz und Heide Dürr Stiftung.
Award Ceremonies
The Theatre-Award-Berlin 2026 presented by the Stiftung Preußische Seehandlung went to the artists Lina Majdalanie and Rabih Mroué. The 3sat-Award for innovative artistic achievement was presented to Katharina Bach for her performance in Wallenstein. A slaughter feast in seven courses. The Alfred-Kerr-Acting-Award went to the actor Paulina Alpen for her performance in the production Die Welt im Rücken. The solo juror was the actor and author Matthias Brandt.
Jury and Assessment Criteria
With the end of the festival the critics Sabine Leucht, Martin Thomas Pesl and Sascha Westphal will leave the Theatertreffen jury. The Berliner Festspiele thank these jurors for their considerable dedication and expertise. Jakob Hayner, Yaël Koutouan and Silvia Stammen have been appointed to take their places. Together with Alexandra Kedves, Vincent Koch, Falk Schreiber and Christine Wahl, they have been viewing productions for the 2027 Theatertreffen since 1 January 2026.
After extensive consultation, the new jury has decided to view and invite productions for the 2027 and 2028 editions of the festival without a female quota. The jury will share their observations and viewing experiences of structural inequalities with the public at the 2027 Theatertreffen. The female quota was introduced for the first time in 2019 for the 2020 and 2021 festival editions and has been discussed and agreed afresh for every subsequent assessment year by the respective independent jury.
Catch Up Viewing in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library
The recordings produced by 3sat of the “Starke Stücke” Mephisto, Il Gattopardo, Fräulein Else and Wallenstein. A slaughter feast in seven courses and a variety of behind the scenes items will remain available to view in the media libraries of 3sat and the BerlinerFestspiele until May 2027.
Recordings of the welcoming words at the festival opening, the talks in the discourse programme, the panel On Writing and Acting and the jury’s concluding discussion can also be accessed there.
The 64th Theatertreffen will take place from 6 to 23 May 2027.
International Forum
The International Forum directed by Aljoscha Begrich and Sima Djabar Zadegan welcomed 33 aspiring artists from all around the world who participated in artistic collaborations together.
Theatertreffen-Blog
The Theatertreffen-Blog edited by Grete Götze and Frieda Ahrens reported critically on the events of the festival. All the contributions can still be accessed online.
The festival wishes to thank all its co-operation partners and supporters as well as all the participants for their collaboration.
Press Contact
Sara Franke, Wiebke Müller, Anna Hinz
presse@berlinerfestspiele.de
+49 30 254 89 269/ 132
Go to Theatertreffen press section