The Ernst Deutsch Theater (own spelling without hyphens) in Hamburg is Germany's largest private spoken-word theatre, with over 200,000 visitors per season. The main stage at the Friedrich-Schütter-Platz at the Mundsburg has 743 seats. The theatre has its own workshops and employs about 120 staff. At three venues, 400 performances take place per season. It was founded on 13 October 1951 by the actors Friedrich Schütter and Wolfgang Borchert and some like-minded people — a "protest action" by young, committed actors against the programmes of the stages that had reopened shortly after the end of the war. The aim was to offer young actors opportunities in Hamburg's cultural landscape and to create a stage for contemporary drama. The first venue was in the British Information Center on the Große Bleichen in Hamburg's Neustadt. A year after the opening, in 1952, it moved to the Neue Rabenstraße in Rotherbaum, then in 1956 to rooms on the Marschnerstraße in Barmbek-Süd, and finally in 1964 to its present location, the former UFA-Palast cinema at the Mundsburg.
The Ernst Deutsch Theater at Mundsburg, with 744 seats, is Hamburg's largest private theatre — named after the Austrian-German actor Ernst Deutsch (1890-1969), who spent his later years here.
At a glance
- Type
- Theatre
- Location
- Hamburg, Germany
- Address
- Friedrich-Schütter-Platz
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