Imperial Theater

The Imperial Theater stands in a former cinema on the Reeperbahn in Hamburg-Mitte. It opened in 1994 in a building that had once been a newsreel cinema, then a mainstream cinema, a 360-degree cinema, and later a sex cinema. Frank Thannhäuser founded the theatre and still directs productions, sometimes acting or designing sets and costumes himself. The house seats about 270 people and has become a fixture of Hamburg’s cultural scene.

The theatre is best known for its musicals like Grease and The Rocky Horror Show, and its Christmas shows such as The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella. Since 2003 it has focused on crime plays, earning the nickname ‘Hamburg’s Crime Theatre’. Edgar Wallace adaptations have drawn big crowds, including The Indian Scarf, The Avenger and The Hexer. Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap and Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder also feature in the repertoire.

Visitors find a compact playhouse where the stage is close to every seat. The new site at Reeperbahn 35 keeps the same intimate feel in a 1950s cinema building once called the Radiant. The programme mixes classic crime evenings with comedy nights and literary readings at festivals like Reeperbahn and Harbour Front.