SINCE LIVING DRAMA cannot exist without performance, this introduction will outline the trends that shaped the broad canvas of the German stage, and will also explain the repercussions of performance culture on the writers. Following the postmodern wave of the 1970s, stage directors gained importance, and a culture of so-called “Regietheater” developed, a type of drama that gave directors complete freedom in their productions. Many directors shunned “Werktreue,” the rendering of a dramatic text true to the author's intentions, in favor of experimental performance. They regarded texts largely as reservoirs, sources of material that could be cut, rearranged, and turned upside down completely at the director's discretion. Despite this attempt at creativity, the theater crisis persisted, for audiences stayed away and turned to other leisure activities. Postmodern adaptations of classic playwrights also dominated the programs, making it hard for contemporary playwrights to gain recognition.

An International Theater

Theater programs reveal the plurality and versatility of a theater that is open to both experimental and traditional forms of drama, as well as being receptive to international influences. In 1985, the critic Peter von Becker strongly recommended Alan Ayckbourn's (1939–) realistic and popular theater as an antidote to the German theater crisis, and the director Peter Brook (1925–) is now celebrated as one of the greatest living directors. Since his production of the CIVIL warS in 1984, the highly acclaimed American director Robert Wilson (1941–) has directed his theatrical works of art in Germany.