Theater Bonn

In the 19th century, the citizens of Bonn built their first own theatre, which was intended to make an independent contribution to their education in the arts. Similar reasons motivated the spa town of Bad Godesberg, which was still under its own administration in those days, to create a venue that initially hosted guest performances and later housed a company of its own.  Today, the municipal theatre, which includes several different artistic genres and employs around 500 people, makes a significant contribution to the cultural life of the city and its surrounding region. In addition to numerous productions of the theatre’s opera and drama branches, the event series Highlights des Inernationalen Tanzes and Quatsch keine Oper are firmly established in its programme.

Dr Bernhard Helmich has been the theatre’s General Artistic Director since 2013/14. Head of Drama Jens Groß, General Musical Director Dirk Kaftan and Dr Helmich make up the theatre’s artistic management. Rüdiger Frings is its Managing Director. Theater Bonn has more than 430 employees in a wide range of departments and trades. It is their commitment and passion that makes a programme of such variety possible.

Participation and Cultural Education

The theatre launched the communication platform portal together with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, which gives children and young people access to cultural education, regardless of their social situation. Apart from artistic productions, a wide range of communication formats, including rehearsal visits, guided tours and workshops form the core of the work of our musical theatre, concert and theatre educators. In their daily work, they introduce children and young people to Bonn as a place of cultural diversity and enable them to participate beyond the mere watching and listening.

Since 1992, the Children’s and Youth Choir has been an integral part of Theater Bonn. It has not only featured in numerous productions but also brings its concerts and productions to many other German theatres, allowing children from the age of six to tread the boards for the first time.

Two Buildings with their Own History

In the year 1826, citizens from Bonn took the initiative to build the city’s first theatre. In 1848, a new building was constructed on Wilhelmsplatz, which housed its own drama company from 1902 and an opera ensemble from 1935. The current Opera House opened in 1965, on the banks of the Rhine and close to the Kennedy-Bridge. The building by architects Klaus Gessler and Wilfried Beck-Erlang has a sculptural air and houses the main auditorium (1024 seats) as well as the Werkstattbühne (125 seats), a more intimate studio theatre which is used mainly for new drama works and experimental productions. The main venue of the drama department is the Schauspielhaus (435 seats) in the centre of Bad Godesberg – it was the first theatre building to be constructed in Germany after the Second World War and has landmark status today.