Two of last year’s world premieres at Diskothek were invited to the prestigious Mülheimer Theatertage – Stücke 2019 – a great acknowledgement of the venue’s concept. “atlas” by Thomas Köck, directed by Philipp Preuss, and “Disko” by Wolfram Höll, directed by Ivan Panteleev, both of them commissioned by Schauspiel Leipzig, were nominated for the most eminent distinction of German-language contemporary drama. In 2014 and 2016, Wolfram Höll had already won the Mülheim Dramatists’ Award with world premiere-productions from Leipzig.

The coming season at Diskothek will pursue existing collaborations and welcome new voices and directorial styles to Leipzig. We will also continue to expand our interest in European contexts: “ERIOPIS — Medeas überlebende Tochter erzählt alles (UA)” (WT), a new play by the Finnish author E.L. Karhu will celebrate its world premiere in March 2020. This transcription of the Medea-material, a work commissioned by Schauspiel Leipzig, will be staged by director Anna-Sophie Mahler, who will work at our theatre for the first time.

New artists to be welcomed at Diskothek at the beginning of the season are Swiss author Martina Clavadetscher and director Katrin Plötner. The latter will stage the world premiere of “Frau Ada denkt Unerhörtes”, Martina Clavadetscher’s exploration of the life of mathematician Ada Lovelace.

For her text “Fluss, stromaufwärts”, author Alexandra Pâzgu received the 2018 Exiled Dramatists’ Award, a distinction given out by WIENER WORTSTÄTTEN in cooperation with Schauspiel Leipzig. In this text, Pâzgu, who was born in Romania and lives and works in Vienna, investigates identities betwixt the cultures. The world premiere will be directed by Gordon Kämmerer in November 2019. 

Regine Dura and Hans-Werner Kroesinger are one of the most relevant teams of theatre makers who have redefined the relationship between authorship and directing in their research projects. This season, they will work in Leipzig and at Diskothek for the first time: In January 2020, they will produce “Brennende Erde” (WT), an investigation of the implications of open-case brown coal mining in and around Leipzig. And in February 2020, Yves Hinrichs will once again create a production together with the members of the youth theatre club and the theatre’s ensemble.

There will once more be opportunities to find out more about the texts and to meet the authors themselves in our series of meetings at the Diskothek’s “Bar” – in open rehearsals or performances. The dates for these events will be published in the monthly programme schedules and online on our website. And we are looking forwards to celebrating the Diskothek with concerts by experimental musicians after our premieres. Admission will be free and, wherever possible, we will party in the productions’ stage areas!

This fourth Leipzig edition of our festival 4 + 1 will continue our efforts to support the emerging talents of young authors who are still studying their craft. 4 + 1 will be their first opportunity to expose their texts and plays to a working theatre and its audience. A festival with no winners or losers: In conversations and readings featuring the acting company, we will focus on the students’ writings, creating a platform for exchange and experiment for a new generation of theatre authors. Four authors from each of the various writing academies in the German-language region will travel to Leipzig to discuss new styles of writing, to get to know each other and to see their texts take to the stage.