Claus Peymann | |
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.jpg) Peymann, in 2011 | |
| Born | Klaus Eberhard Peymann (1937-06-07)7 June 1937 Bremen, Gau Weser-Ems, Germany |
| Died | 16 July 2025(2025-07-16) (aged 88) Berlin, Germany |
| Occupations |
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| Organizations | |
| Partner | Jutta Ferbers |
| Awards | Nestroy Theatre Prize |
Claus Peymann (bornKlaus Eberhard Peymann,German:[ˈklaʊsˈeːbɐʁhaʁtˈpaɪ̯man]; 7 June 1937 – 16 July 2025) was a German theatre director and manager. He headed theSchauspiel Stuttgart from 1974, theSchauspielhaus Bochum from 1979, theBurgtheater in Vienna from 1986 to 1999, and theBerliner Ensemble from 1999 to 2017. In all positions, he focused on world premieres of plays and invited new directors, often causing controversies. He produced Handke'sPublikumsbeschimpfung in 1966 and Bernhard'sHeldenplatz in 1988, many more by these two authors, and also plays byPeter Turrini andElfriede Jelinek. He collaborated with actors who followed him when he moved to a different post, such asGert Voss andTraugott Buhre. Peymann was regarded as an already legendary figure in German theatre during his lifetime.[1]
Peymann was born inBremen on 7 June 1937,[2] the son of the teacher Karl Peymann and his wife Käthe.[3] After completing school inHamburg with theAbitur in 1956,[2] he studied German studies, literature and theatre sciences at theUniversity of Hamburg, where he at times led a theatre studio of students.[2][4]
Peymann began work in the 1966/67 season as an assistant toOtto Sander undUlrich Wildgruber at theStadttheater Heidelberg and was thenOberspielleiter at theTheater am Turm in Frankfurt until 1969. He directed there the world premieres of Handke'sPublikumsbeschimpfung (Offending the Audience) in 1966,[5][6]Kaspar andDas Mündel will Vormund sein and ofGerlind Reinshagen'sDoppelkopf.[6] He was one of the directors of the late 1960s who wanted to create a new theatre, presenting a new better society to an audience of a criticised society, planting ideas ofsocial criticism into classical plays such as Goethe'sTorquato Tasso and Kleist'sDer Prinz von Homburg.[4]
Together withPeter Stein, he founded the newSchaubühne am Halleschen Ufer [de] with the 1970/71 season. He directed his first world premiere of a play byThomas Bernhard,Ein Fest für Boris [de] (A Feast for Boris), at theDeutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg in 1970, beginning a collaboration with the author for life.[6] He directed the world premiere of Handke'sDer Ritt über den Bodensee in Berlin in 1971.[6] Because of disagreements with Peter Stein, Peymann worked freelance from 1971 to 1974.[7] He directed Bernhard'sDer Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige [de] (The Ignorant and the Madman), at theSalzburg Festival in 1972, withBruno Ganz andUlrich Wildgruber.[8]
Peymann becameintendant at theSchauspiel Stuttgart in 1974,[4][7] where his productions of classical plays such Schiller'sDie Räuber, Kleist'sKäthchen von Heilbronn, and Goethe'sFaust I,Faust II andIphigenie auf Tauris was recognised.[6] He managed there to attract an ensemble of actors who would follow him to Bochum and later Vienna, includingGert Voss,Kirsten Dene [de],Traugott Buhre andBranko Samarovski [de]. He worked continuously also with dramaturgesHermann Beil [de], andJutta Ferbers [de], his partner.[8] In 1976 he stagedFaust on a stage designed byAchim Freyer, withMartin Lüttge [de] as Faust, a capitalist, and Samarovski as Mephisto, a jester. He made Dene as Iphigenie sit at a typewriter in 1977.[4]
In 1979 Peymann became Intendant at theSchauspielhaus Bochum,[4] succeedingPeter Zadek. In 1980, Samarovski, as Tasso, was kept in a glass cage, and he staged Bernhard'sDer Weltverbesserer [de] withBernhard Minetti andEdith Heerdegen as his mute partner. He staged in 1982 Kleist'sHermannsschlacht with Voss as Hermann, aChe Guevara lookalike who instigated the partisan fight against the Roman occupiers like a rascal's prank, as a reviewer from theFrankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted, who concluding that he managed to reconcile student theatre and municipal theatre.[4] In almost seven years in Bochum, Peymann developed the troupe to one of the leading theatres in German, according to critics.[6]
Peymann headed theBurgtheater in Vienna from 1986 to 1999,[2][9] where he staged 252 productions, including 51 world premieres.[6] In 1987 he staged Shakespeare'sRichard III with Gert Voss as a pickpocket.[4] His focus on new plays by Austrian authors, such as Bernhard'sHeldenplatz in 1988, often caused scandal and arguments in the Vienna press.[9] Besides Handke and Bernhard, he also offered new works byPeter Turrini andElfriede Jelinek,[6][4] whoseEin Sportstück was produced in 1998, directed byEinar Schleef. He invited also other different directors includingRuth Berghaus,George Tabori,[9]Giorgio Strehler,Peter Zadek,Hans Neuenfels andBob Wilson.[4] Actors favoured by the audience also includedIlse Ritter [de] andMartin Schwab [de]. He offered attractive tickets for students and young people.[9]
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Peymann was Intendant, artistic director and manager of theBerliner Ensemble from 1999.[2][7] The ensemble was founded byBertolt Brecht in 1949 and played mainly his works at theTheater am Schiffbauerdamm. Peymann continued the tradition, but also staged contemporary drama such as Bernhard's works. The theatre was often full, and reviews predictably negative.[1][7] He used the theatre as a place for political statement and resistance.[1]
In 2002 Peymann was awarded theNestroy Theatre Prize for his life achievements. Comments in the ceremony and their interpretation in the press caused him to return the award. He accepted it ten years later.[6] Peymann concluded his term on 2 July 2017 with a long evening at the theatre, attended by artistic friends such asNina Hagen,Katharina Thalbach,Georgette Dee [de],Angela Winkler andHerbert Grönemeyer.[10][11]
Peymann worked as a freelance director when his health permitted, such as at theStadttheater Ingolstadt and Bernhard'sMinetti [de] at theResidenztheater in Munich.[1] His last production was Beckett'sWarten auf Godot at theTheater in der Josefstadt in Vienna in 2023.[1][8]
Peymann lived with his partner, Jutta Ferbers, inBerlin-Köpenick.[12] He died at his home on 16 July 2025 following a long illness, aged 88.[1][5][8]
