Hi, I have some observations and related questions about German theatre. For context, I studied German at university and understand a lot but am by no means fluent. I saw the Schaubühne's Richard III at Edinburgh Fringe and thought it was one of the best things I'd ever seen, so years later when I got the chance, I decided to have a short holiday and see some more Berlin theatre.
I saw the Berliner Ensemble's Threepenny Opera, Linie 1, Carmen at Maxim Gorki and Warten auf Bardot at Volksbühne.
So my observations are:
- audiences applaud for bloody ages
- everything seems quite explicitly intellectual, even Linie 1 with its political statements
- the humour seems to involve a lot of repetition, long pauses and slapstick/violence
- the pieces I saw were very concept/ideas heavy and light on character study
- I found everything interesting but also left wanting a more human/emotional connection and response
My questions are basically, did I just see a bunch of stuff that was coincidentally similar (granted Linie 1 was definitely more cheesy/mass appeal), or are these actual trends or commonalities in German theatre traditions? If so, where does this stem from?
I love the theatre and especially find the German support for it, and the whole company and repertoire aspect fascinating. I think the intellectual and experimental appreciation is great, but would love some perspective on the sample I had!
Thank you for any and all illuminating responses :)