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| Spielart | |
|---|---|
| Name | Spielart |
| Type | Festival and Theatre company |
| Location | Munich, Bavaria, Germany |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Kirsten Dehlholm? |
| Genre | Contemporary theatre, performance art, experimental music |
Spielart is an international festival and organization based in Munich, Bavaria, presenting contemporary theatre, performance art, and interdisciplinary productions by artists from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia. Founded in the late 20th century, it built networks with leading institutions, ensembles, and makers to commission and present site-specific works, cross-arts collaborations, and festival premieres. Spielart has hosted artists associated with major movements and venues, drawing connections among practitioners linked to institutions such as Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, Théâtre de la Ville, Royal Court Theatre, The Wooster Group, Grec Festival de Barcelona, and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Spielart emerged during a period of renewed festival activity in post-Cold War Europe alongside events like Festival d'Avignon, Biennale di Venezia, and Wiener Festwochen. Early seasons curated exchanges with collectives linked to Judson Church, Gutai Group, Fluxus, and practitioners associated with Pina Bausch and Jan Fabre. Over subsequent decades Spielart expanded collaborations with ensembles rooted in the Comédie-Française, Burgtheater, Teatro alla Scala for music-theatre intersections, and contemporary companies connected to Complicité, Forced Entertainment, and Fórum do Futuro. The festival’s programming traces developments in postdramatic theatre associated with theorists like Hans-Thies Lehmann, and intersected with choreographers from the lineage of Merce Cunningham and William Forsythe.
Spielart’s mission foregrounds transnational exchange among artists working in experimental theatre, dance, and sound art. The curatorial remit has included commissions, premieres, and revivals from creators affiliated with Robert Wilson, Heiner Müller, Sophie Calle, Robert Lepage, and companies such as Le Cirque Invisible and Les Arts Florissants when projects call for historical-musical crossover. Educational strands have linked to institutions like LMU Munich, Bayerische Staatsoper’s outreach, Goethe-Institut exchanges, and residency formats used by Dancers' Group and Fabrica. Playwrights, directors, composers, and designers presented at Spielart have pedigrees connected to Santiago a Mil, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Manchester International Festival, and academies like Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Institute of Contemporary Arts.
The festival has showcased premieres and co-productions with artists and ensembles whose work resonates with productions at National Theatre, Kammerspiele München, De Vlaamse Opera, and touring networks including Onassis Cultural Centre and Tate Modern. Collaborators and guest makers have included figures associated with Ellen Stewart’s La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, designers linked to Brechtian traditions like those seen at Berliner Ensemble, and composers from lineages of John Cage, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and György Ligeti. Notable partnerships have extended to directors and playwrights connected to Sarah Kane, Thomas Ostermeier, Ivo van Hove, Robert Icke, and to performance artists in the orbit of Marina Abramović and Laurie Anderson.
Spielart programming has taken place at and in partnership with Munich venues such as Prinzregententheater, Muffathalle, Kammerspiele, and sites used by festivals like Munich Biennale and Gasteig. International touring and guest presentations have connected Spielart to festivals and venues including Biennale Teatro, Festival d'automne à Paris, Kunstenfestivaldesarts, Festival Internacional Cervantino, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Co-curation and exchange projects involved institutions like Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Staatstheater Mainz, Helsinki Festival, and municipal partners in Barcelona, Vienna, Zurich, and Prague.
Spielart is organized through a curatorial team and administrative board with partnerships across cultural bodies such as the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and the Arts, municipal cultural offices of Munich, and transnational funders including European Cultural Foundation, Creative Europe, and private foundations akin to Robert Bosch Stiftung and KfW Stiftung. Production budgets have relied on co-productions with institutions like Staatsoper Berlin, broadcasters such as ZDF and Arte, and philanthropic support reminiscent of networks supporting Fondation Cartier and Volkswagen Stiftung. The festival model often uses subsidy, ticket revenue, and in-kind venue support common to European arts festivals affiliated with European Festivals Association.
Critics and scholars have situated Spielart within critical conversations alongside festivals such as Avignon Festival and Edinburgh International Festival, noting its role in introducing works by artists with pedigrees from The Living Theatre, Scholz & Friends? and avant-garde traditions tied to Dada and Surrealism. Reviews in outlets comparable to Die Zeit, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, and international coverage modeled on The Guardian and The New York Times have reflected on Spielart’s influence in Munich’s cultural ecosystem and on touring circuits across Europe and beyond. The festival’s legacy includes fostering collaborations that led to long-term co-productions with repertory houses like Schauspielhaus Zürich and shaping curatorial practices adopted by younger festivals such as Theatre and Dance Festivals across the continent.
Category:Theatre festivals in Germany