Overview

• Claus Peymann died on July 16 after a prolonged illness at his home in Berlin-Köpenick, according to former Berliner Ensemble manager Miriam Lüttgemann.
• He served as Intendant of the Wiener Burgtheater from 1986 to 1999 and led the Berliner Ensemble between 1999 and 2017.
• Peymann’s collaborations with playwrights such as Thomas Bernhard and Peter Handke resulted in landmark premieres that used theatre as a platform for social critique.
• He courted controversy with political actions ranging from advocating for RAF prisoners’ welfare in the 1970s to offering a theatre post to former RAF member Christian Klar.
• He remained active into his eighties, mounting his final production of Waiting for Godot in 2023 and leaving a legacy of bold, politically engaged theatre.