Director and playwright
Volksbühne director René Pollesch dies unexpectedly at the age of 61
Pollesch has received several awards for his work
© Daniel Karmann / Picture Alliance
As director, he was at the helm of the renowned Berliner Volksbühne – and ensured that the house returned to calm waters after a turbulent time. Now René Pollesch has died unexpectedly.
The director of the Berliner Volksbühne, René Pollesch is dead. He died suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday morning at the age of 61, the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz announced in the evening. Volksbühne spokeswoman Lena Fuchs initially did not provide any information about the exact circumstances of death. “We are all shocked,” she told the German Press Agency.
Pollesch, who was also an author and director, took over the stage in 2021. The theater at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz had previously had turbulent years behind it. Before taking over the directorship, Pollesch had worked at the Volksbühne himself, and before that he had directed for various theaters.
The playwright and director was born in Friedberg, Hesse, in 1962. He studied applied theater studies at the University of Giessen and was then, among other things, artistic director of the Prater of the Berliner Volksbühne. His teachers included George Tabori and Heiner Müller.
As an author he wrote over 200 plays
As an author, he wrote over 200 pieces, most of which were short. He staged his own plays at the Burgtheater Vienna, the Deutsches Theater Berlin and the Munich Kammerspiele, among others.
Pollesch has received several awards for his work. Among other things, he received the Mühlheim Dramatist Prize in 2001 and 2006. He was most recently awarded the Arthur Schnitzler Prize in Vienna in 2019.