Piscator stage

The Piscator-Bühne was a series of avant-garde theatres in Berlin run by director Erwin Piscator between 1927 and 1931. The first opened at the Theater am Nollendorfplatz with Ernst Toller’s play *Hoppla, wir leben!* on 3 September 1927. Financial backing came from Ludwig Katzenellenbogen, husband of actress Tilla Durieux, who owned a large Berlin industrial firm. A second attempt began in 1929 at the same theatre, opening with Walter Mehring’s *Der Kaufmann von Berlin*. The third and final stage operated from 1930 in the Wallner-Theater and Lessing-Theater before closing in 1931. Piscator’s work became a model for political theatre in the 1920s. He used moving walkways, multi-level stages, rotating platforms and motorised bridges to keep the action alive. Large screens projected images and documentary films were shown to sharpen the message. Among those who worked with him were Bertolt Brecht as dramaturge, actors Ernst Busch and Helene Weigel, and designers George Grosz and John Heartfield. The collective also included writers Ernst Toller and Walter Mehring. Visitors would have found a theatre alive with experiment. The stage machinery created rapid scene changes and striking visual effects. Performances mixed live action with projected newsreels and film clips to comment on current events. The repertoire included modern plays that challenged audiences with urgent social themes. Though short-lived, the Piscator-Bühne left a lasting mark on Berlin’s cultural life.