Small theater (Bad Godesberg)

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Little Theater (2013)

The Small Theater (also: Small Theater in the Park ) is a venue for drama, tabloid comedies and musicals in Bad Godesberg , a district of Bonn . Today's theater building, built in 1922-23, is located in the spa park in the district of Alt-Godesberg with the address Koblenzerstraße 78. It stands as a monument under monument protection .

history

The current building of the small theater was built in 1922/23 as a residential building for the banking house Gebr. David based on a design by the local architect Willy Maß . As a result of a change of ownership, the director of the Schiller Works moved into the house in 1924. In 1925, the community of Godesberg acquired the property in order to furnish the mayor's official apartment there. This position was held by Josef Zander , who lived in the house from 1926 until the end of his term in office in 1933. Zander's successor as mayor and thus also as host was the NSDAP politician Heinrich Alef .

After 1945 the building served different users. In 1969 the city council of Bad Godesberg made it available to the small theater, which had been founded on October 21, 1958 in Godesberger Ubierstraße. After extensive renovation work, the first premiere took place in the new venue on September 18, 1970 . The small theater has 161 seats in the building and up to 300 performances are played per season . Walter Ullrich has been in charge of the theater since it was founded , making him Germany's longest-serving theater director . The building belongs to the city of Bonn and is leased to the theater.

Until February 27, 2019, the continued existence of the small theater was considered endangered because the existing lease expires in 2019 and the previous subsidies from the city are no longer granted. On February 27, 2019, the City Council of Bonn decided on the further rental to the actor Frank Oppermann , who signed a lease for 30 years on March 29, 2019. This means that the house will continue under new management from July 1, 2019.

Theater operations

The Small Theater in Bad Godesberg was founded on October 21, 1958 by Walter Ullrich in a basement in Bad Godesberger Ubierstrasse. At the age of 27, he was Germany's youngest director. The room theater quickly became known far beyond the city limits and there were prominent premieres and world premieres and literary discoveries. Ullrich directed and acted a lot himself, but he also always brought renowned directors to his house who staged many good works for the small theater. Since autumn 1970 the small theater has been located in the old mayor's house in the spa gardens in Bad Godesberg. Lilian Harvey played her last role in the crime comedy "The Spider Web" directed by Agatha Christie .

With the end of his lease, Walter Ullrich decided to give up his management duties on June 30, 2019. As a result, Frank Oppermann tried to find a successor and continuation from summer 2016 and was awarded the contract by the decision of the council on February 28, 2019.

Walter Ullrich's tradition and mix of the program should be preserved. The house is to be renovated. A supporting program is intended to open the house to an even wider audience.

literature

Web links

Commons : Small Theater  - Collection of Pictures

References and comments

  1. ↑ formerly Gartenstrasse 4
  2. ↑ List of monuments of the city of Bonn (as of March 15, 2019), p. 31, number A 4011
  3. ^ Jürgen Küpper: Fifty Years of the City Theater (Kammerspiele) in Bad Godesberg . In: Godesberger Heimatblätter: Annual issue of the Association for Home Care and Home History Bad Godesberg eV , ISSN  0436-1024 , Issue 40/2002, pp. 177–190 (here: p. 189).
  4. ↑ Martin Ammermüller : The future of the small theater . In: Godesberger Heimatblätter: Annual volume of the Association for Home Care and Home History Bad Godesberg , ISSN  0436-1024 , Association for Home Care and Home History Bad Godesberg eV, Volume 55/2017, Bad Godesberg 2018, p. 192/193.
  5. ↑ Philipp Königs: Commentary on the small theater: The second chance. In: General-Anzeiger Bonn. March 7, 2019, accessed April 18, 2019 .

Coordinates: 50 ° 40 ′ 51.1 ″  N , 7 ° 9 ′ 19.8 ″  E