Theater Dortmund

The Theater Dortmund has its origin in 1904 and, with over 500 employees, is one of the largest theatres in Germany (as of 2010). The theatre, to which the Dortmund Opera also belongs, is divided into the six divisions of concerts (Dortmund Philharmonic), music theatre, drama, ballet, children's and youth theatre, and the Academy for Theatre and Digitality, each under its own artistic direction. The first theatrical activities in Dortmund can be traced to the end of the 15th century: in 1498 a representative St. John play is said to have been performed at great expense. For the 16th century, performances of classical Greek and humanist dramas by the Dortmund Gymnasium are recorded. In 1582 a large performance of Johann Rasser's comedy about the king who marries off his son took place. These early theatrical impulses in a prospering city came to an end for a long time during the Thirty Years' War, and Dortmund sank into insignificance culturally as well. A new beginning came only in 1806, when Dortmund, in cooperation with Essen, experienced the National Theatre of the first government in the course of the French administration. But this initiative too failed in 1815, when Dortmund became Prussian.