Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin, a public theater with a long history dating back to 1890, has continued to exert a major influence not only on German but also on international theater history. Following German reunification in 1990, director Frank Castorf served as artistic director for 25 years until 2017, defining an era with radical aesthetics and theatrical philosophy reflecting turbulent Berlin. René Pollesch, took the helm in 2021 but passed away suddenly three years later. Following an open recruitment process, Matthias Lilienthal, a dramaturg who had previously served as artistic director at numerous theaters and festivals, was appointed Artistic Director of the theater. It was also announced that artists Florentina Holzinger and Marlene Monteiro Freitas would join the artistic leadership team.
This talk welcomes Helena Eckert, who serves as dramaturg in the Lilienthal team starting September 2026. We will discuss the current state of Berlin, the various political dynamics and conflicts arising within public theaters and the artistic scene in Germany, the new aesthetics and paradigms of theater today symbolized by Susanne Kennedy, to whom she is deeply committed as a dramaturg, and upcoming collaborations with Japanese artists.

Guest Speaker | Helena Eckert
Moderator | Melanie Bono (Director of the Goethe Institut Tokyo)