Ost-Passage Theater

The Ost-Passage Theater is a non-profit neighbourhood stage in Leipzig's east, located on the multicultural Eisenbahnstraße in the Neustadt-Neuschönefeld district. It occupies a striking Gründerzeit building erected in 1911/12 on the cellar vaults of a market hall and opened as early as December 1912 as the "Ost-Passage-Theater" cinema – making it, alongside the UT Connewitz, one of Leipzig's oldest cinemas. Characteristic features are the restored ornamental facade and the "Schiller ceiling" of arched concrete binders, which gives the column-free hall its dome-like aura. Since 2018 the house has been run by a largely volunteer initiative as a semi-professional stage that brings together laypeople, amateurs and professionals. Modelled on the citizens'-stage idea, it presents contemporary productions, neighbourhood projects, film evenings and festivals.