Frank_Castorf
Frank Castorf
German theatre director
Frank Castorf (born 17 July 1951 in East Berlin) is a German theater director and was the artistic director of the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz from 1992 to 2015.[1] His work is often associated with postdramatic theatre.
Early years
Castorf's father was an ironmonger.[1] Frank Castorf successfully completed his schooling in 1969/70, entering training for railway work.[1] Between 1970 and 1972 he undertook military service with the army's National Border Force.[1]
Then, between 1971 and 1976, he attended the Humboldt University of Berlin, studying theatrology. His teachers included Ernst Schumacher, Rudolf Münz and Joachim Fiebach.[2] His diploma dissertation, which was formally commended,[2] was entitled "Ground Rules for the 'Development' of Ionesco's Global Ideological Perspective and Artistic-Aesthetic Position".[3] He made numerous culturally focused visits to Poland during this period.[1]
In 1989, Klaus Pierwoß brought Castorf with a production of Hamlet to Schauspiel Köln, Cologne.[4]
In 2013, he directed a "deliberately incoherent" production of the Ring Cycle at the Bayreuth Wagner Festival, which was booed by the audience.[5][6]
- Helmut Müller-Enbergs; Aune Renk. "Castorf, Frank * 17.7.1951: Regisseur, Intendant der Volksbühne Berlin". Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- Jörg Wagner und Heike Zappe. ""Das hatte etwas Verwunschenes, Dornröschenmäßiges": Interview mit Frank Castorf". Retrieved 3 November 2012.
- "Vorgeblättert - Robin Detje: Castorf, Teil 2". Perlentaucher - Online Kulturmagazin (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2019.
- Kettle, Martin (2 August 2013). "Castorf has become the villain of the Bayreuth Ring cycle". The Guardian.
- Tommasini, Anthony (August 2013). "At Bayreuth, Boos and Dropped Jaws". The New York Times.
- Secondary material
- Hans-Thies Lehmann: Postdramatic Theatre. translated and with an introduction by Karen Jübs-Munby, Routledge, London and New York 2006, ISBN 978-0-415-26813-4.
