Frank Castorf

Frank Castorf
Castorf in 2019
Born17 July 1951 (1951-07-17) (age 73)
East Berlin, East Germany
OccupationTheatre 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.

Biography

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]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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.
  2. ^ a b Jörg Wagner und Heike Zappe. ""Das hatte etwas Verwunschenes, Dornröschenmäßiges": Interview mit Frank Castorf". Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  3. ^ „Grundlinien der ‚Entwicklung‘ der weltanschaulich-ideologischen und künstlerisch-ästhetischen Positionen Ionescos zur Wirklichkeit".
  4. ^ "Vorgeblättert - Robin Detje: Castorf, Teil 2". Perlentaucher - Online Kulturmagazin (in German). Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  5. ^ Kettle, Martin (2 August 2013). "Castorf has become the villain of the Bayreuth Ring cycle". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (August 2013). "At Bayreuth, Boos and Dropped Jaws". The New York Times.

Literature

Secondary material
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