Hans-Ulrich Becker

Hans-Ulrich Becker (born June 10, 1956 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a German theater director .

Life

Hans-Ulrich Becker studied German , cultural anthropology and theater studies with Erika Fischer-Lichte at the University of Frankfurt am Main . After seven years of freelance theater work in Frankfurt am Main a. a. as an actor (e.g. with Eugenio Barba ) he became an assistant director at the Bavarian State Theater in Munich . There he staged the German premiere of Bergsprache by Harold Pinter as an assistant in 1989 .

This was followed by numerous productions at various theaters, including a. in Aachen , at the Theater of the City of Heidelberg and at the Theater Bremen . In Aachen a. a. his staging of Christian Dietrich Grabbe's comedy joke, satire, irony and deeper meaning , which was invited to the NRW Theatertreffen in 1992.

From 1992 to 1995, Hans-Ulrich Becker was senior director at the Mannheim National Theater . During this time two of his productions were invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen . 1993 Yvonne, the Burgundy Princess of Witold Gombrowicz (Theater of the City of Heidelberg) and in 1994 Walpurgis Night or the steps of the Commander of Wenedikt Wassiljewitsch Jerofejew (National Theater Mannheim).

In 1994 he staged the premiere of Foraminifere by Alexander Müller-Elmau for the first time at the Stuttgart State Theater . This was followed in the same year by Philippe Adrien's Sundays by the Sea .

In 1995 Becker switched to the directorship of the Stuttgart State Theater as in-house director, but before he left Mannheim he still staged Macbeth (Shakespeare) (Nationaltheater Mannheim, 1995) and Komödie im Dunkeln by Peter Shaffer (Nationaltheater Mannheim, 1995). His third work in Stuttgart was the spectacular rediscovery of Julien Green's drama There is no tomorrow , Molière's Der Menschenfeind (Staatstheater Stuttgart, 1996) followed.

In 1997 he staged the world premiere of Bryan S. Johnson's play Lebensabend at the Staatstheater Stuttgart and did not turn the 'geriatric comedy' into a musty disquiet kitsch, but from today 's perspective, approached a topic early on that every society deals with the next generation has to deal with: “Becker's provocations are not an endeavor, nor are they an end in themselves. The dignified, pitying or concerned treatment of the elderly, which is usually demanded, is for him ultimately variants of the endeavor to avoid the subject in silence ... ”( Handelsblatt , February 8, 1997).

In 1997 he worked in Brazil Medea in Bahia , a Brazilian-German theater project by Jo Schmidt for ZDFtheaterkanal was recorded. In 1998, his Medea was invited by Euripides , which was created in 1997 at the Stuttgart State Theater, to the Chekhov Festival in Moscow and shown there in the famous artist theater .

Through its staging of the premiere of Lillian Hellman's Southern drama Another part of the forest at the Deutsches Theater Berlin wrote the Süddeutsche Zeitung on 16 April 1998 that it "is a feast for the actor and a revelation for the loudly applauding audience."

Numerous other productions followed at the Stuttgart State Theater, a. a. the German premiere of Botho Strauss ' The Similar , pieces by Peter Turrini , Biljana Srbljanović , Judith Herzberg , Ray Bradbury , Yasmina Reza , Martin Walser or Juli Zeh , again and again in collaboration with the set designer Alexander Müller-Elmau.

For a while he turned almost exclusively to comedies, and staged mainly at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna, for example. B. pieces like the Austrian premiere of Gmeyners The machine buffet , or the flea in the ear of Feydeau .

Since 2001, Hans-Ulrich Becker has staged several times at the Bavarian State Theater, where he once began his career as a director. During this time, u. a. Productions by Yasmina Reza's Three Times Life , Martin McDoagh's The Pillow Man , Debbie Tucker Greens Stoning Mary , Andromache by Jean Racine and The Affair Rue de Lourcine by Eugène Labiche , Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel Munich .

In 2012 Becker worked at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus , where the world premiere of Juli Zehs 203 was made.

Several projects followed in the Rhine-Main area by 2014. (State Theater Wiesbaden, Theater Heidelberg)

In 2015, the Süddeutsche Zeitung (February 11, 2015) described "circles / visions" as "a litter" on the occasion of his staging of Joel Pommerat's circles / visions in the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus (February 11, 2015). The "cyclical trip through the ages" developed an "eminent pull" by exemplifying the topic of belief "in lively figures." Hans-Ulrich Becker let a "scenic fireworks burn down in Düsseldorf.

Robert Seethaler wrote a version of his novel "Der Trafikant" especially for the Württembergische Landesbühne. "The production by Hans-Ulrich Becker is a celebration," writes Dorothee Schöpfer in the Stuttgarter Nachrichten (October 22, 2016), which the critic essentially attributes to the "great" actors and the "leadership of a clever director" can also show the many moments of silence on stage in such a way that everything is said. "

Roland Müller writes in the Stuttgarter Zeitung about his latest production " Der zerbrochne Krug ", also at the WLB: "Hans-Ulrich Becker, who has already made Seethaler's" Trafikanten "a success in Esslingen, tastes Kleist's wealth to the limit this also includes the captivating modernity of the topics that are in the “jug”, from Adam's “fake news” to Eve's “Metoo”, from colonialism and exploitation to perversion of the law and class justice.

In 2018 he was a founding member of teatreBLAU , an association of international artists from different disciplines whose goal is the conception, planning and practical implementation of international performances and art projects.

Becker is a member of the German Academy of Performing Arts and curator for the performing arts of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation.

Teaching

From 2004 to 2009 Hans-Ulrich Becker was professor for practical theater work at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen / Bochum. Since 2010 he has been training director for the scene area at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main and trains young directors.

Productions

1988/89

Mountain language / One more last by Harold Pinter , Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel Munich (German premiere)

1989/90

Wolokolamsker Chaussee IV by Heiner Müller , Theater Aachen
Line 1 from Volker Ludwig , Ingolstadt Theater

1990/91

The Broken Jug by Heinrich von Kleist , Theater Aachen
A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare , Heidelberg City Theater
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett , Theater Bremen
The hunting party of Thomas Bernhard , Theater Aachen

1991/92

Karate-Billi returns from Klaus Pohl , Theater der Stadt Heidelberg
Yvonne, the Burgundy Princess by Witold Gombrowicz , Theater der Stadt Heidelberg (invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen )
Joke, satire, irony and deeper meaning by Christian Dietrich Grabbe , Theater Aachen (invited to the NRW-Theatertreffen)

1992/93

Iphigenie in Aulis by Euripides , Nationaltheater Mannheim (nominated for the Berlin Theatertreffen)
Platonov by Anton Chekhov , Mannheim National Theater

1993/94

The Schroffenstein family from Heinrich von Kleist , Mannheim National Theater
Walpurgis Night or the Steps of the Commander of Wenedikt Erofejew , Nationaltheater Mannheim (German premiere, invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen)
Foraminifere by Alexander Müller-Elmau , Staatstheater Stuttgart (world premiere)

1994/95

Sundays by the sea by Philippe Adrien , Staatstheater Stuttgart
Macbeth by William Shakespeare , Nationaltheater Mannheim
Comedy in the Dark (Black Comedy) by Peter Shaffer , Nationaltheater Mannheim

1995/96

There is no tomorrow by Julien Green , Staatstheater Stuttgart
The Misanthrope by Molière , State Theater Stuttgart

1996/97

The twentieth century of Bryan S. Johnson , Staatstheater Stuttgart (world premiere)
Medea by Euripides , Staatstheater Stuttgart (invited to the International Chekhov Theater Festival Moscow)
Medeia project to Euripides , San Salvador / Brazil (invited to the Ya ya Brasil Rio / Munich festival)

1997/98

The hunting party of Thomas Bernhard , State Theater Stuttgart
Another part of the forest ( Another part of the forest ) by Lillian Hellman , Deutsches Theater Berlin (German premiere)
Woyzeck by Georg Büchner , Stuttgart State Theater

1998/99

The Similar by Botho Strauss , Staatstheater Stuttgart (German premiere)
End at last / A love in Madagascar by Peter Turrini , Staatstheater Stuttgart (German premiere)

1999/2000

The poor cousin of Ernst Barlach , Thalia Theater Hamburg
Bunbury by Oscar Wilde , Stuttgart State Theater
Family Stories Belgrade by Biljana Sbrlanovic , State Theater Stuttgart

2000/01

And / Or by Judith Herzberg , Staatstheater Stuttgart
The Idiot after Fyodor Dostojewski , Schauspielhaus Bochum (world premiere)
Fahrenheit 451 based on Ray Bradbury , Staatstheater Stuttgart (German premiere)

2001/02

Three times the life of Yasmina Reza , Bavarian State Theater Munich
The Abduction from the Seraglio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Theater am Gärtnerplatz Munich

2002/03

The seven lunatics or the sin that cannot be named by Roberto Arlt , Staatstheater Wiesbaden (German premiere)
Daily bread from Gesine Danckwart , Bavarian State Theater Munich

2003/04

Leonore by Ludwig van Beethoven , State Theater on Gärtnerplatz Munich
The youth are beautiful! Scenes, songs, dances. A theater tour 1900-2000. University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart / Wilhelma-Theater
The vending machine buffet by Anna Gmeyner , Theater in der Josefstadt (Austrian premiere)

2004/2005

Pillow-Man by Martin McDonough , Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel Munich
The assistant to Robert Walser , Bavarian State Theater Munich (world premiere)