Berliner Kriminal Theater

The Berliner Kriminal Theater is a theatre specialising in crime plays in Berlin. It opened in April 2000 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf, first in the former cabaret theatre Die Wühlmäuse. The founders were the director Wolfgang Rumpf and the dramaturge Wolfgang Seppelt. The first production was Die acht Millionäre by Robert Thomas, directed by Rumpf. Matti Wien took the lead role. In 2001 the theatre staged Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap, again under Rumpf’s direction. The theatre moved in 2003 to the Umspannwerk Ost building complex in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Renate Blume and Vera Müller appeared together in Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring in 2009. For its tenth anniversary in 2010 the company revived an Agatha Christie classic with Kaspar Eichel in the lead. In 2011 Wolfgang Rumpf directed the Berlin premiere of Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, with Felix Isenbügel in a main role. The theatre has since presented Berlin premieres of works by Ira Levin, Sebastian Fitzek and Jussi Adler-Olsen. Visitors find a stage devoted entirely to crime drama. The current house in Palisadenstraße offers a programme of new productions and revivals. The ensemble includes established actors alongside younger performers. Each season features a mix of classic whodunits and contemporary thrillers. The intimate setting brings the audience close to the action.