The Schauspielhaus Anniversary: 60 Years of the Graubner Building

Pina Bausch Centre (under construction), Bundesallee 260, Wuppertal

Art must go too far in order to discover how far it can go. (Heinrich Böll)

24 September 1966 was a memorable day for Wuppertal and for Germany’s cultural landscape. More happened that day than the opening of the Schauspielhaus. Thanks to Heinrich Böll,” wrote editor-in-chief Lothar Leuschen in the Westdeutsche Zeitung in 2019 on the occasion of the city’s 90th anniversary. “The opening was a thunderclap. The speech delivered by the future Nobel Prize laureate in Literature Heinrich Böll resonated far beyond the Wuppertal Schauspielhaus. On 24 September 1966, at the inauguration of Gerhard Graubner’s theatre building, the writer spoke about the freedom of art.”

In 1963, architect Professor Gerhard Graubner, together with Dr Akira Sato, one of Japan’s most renowned landscape architects, was commissioned to design the new theatre. The result was a visionary ensemble that uniquely integrates architecture and landscape. The building soon became an icon of modern architecture.

Over the decades, the Schauspielhaus developed into a centre for contemporary performing arts and a place where artistic possibilities could flourish. It brought together some of the most influential figures in theatre and dance. For the 1973/74 season, artistic director Arno Wüstenhöfer appointed Pina Bausch to lead the Wuppertal Ballet, which she soon renamed Tanztheater Wuppertal. Alongside her, artists such as Luc Bondy, Peter Zadek and Hans Neuenfels, as well as stage designer Hanna Jordan, left a lasting mark on this remarkable venue. For countless people, it was here that they experienced their first profound encounter with art, dance and theatre—often at a young age.

Together with the Friends of the Pina Bausch Centre, we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Schauspielhaus from 24 to 27 September at the future Pina Bausch Centre through a wide range of events and formats, especially involving young people and looking ahead to future generations. The anniversary weekend is both a reflection on the past and a look towards the future. It celebrates a building filled with cultural and personal memories—one that, through its transformation into the Pina Bausch Centre, will continue to be an open place for encounter, innovation and international artistic exchange.

The programme for the anniversary weekend will be announced shortly.