Die Prinzipalin

In the organizer's words:

The indelible theater life of Caroline Neuber and her comedy gang

By John von Düffel

Theater and INTHEGA professionals know who or what "the Neuber" is, of course! In addition to her function as the namesake of the INTHEGA Prize, however, she has a much more fundamental significance for us all: Caroline Neuber was the one who gave theater, and thus also actors and drama, the status in society that is so important today. In 1727, she founded a touring theater company and became its principal. She also succeeded in replacing spectacle theater with poetic works of art with an aesthetic and moral format. In doing so, she banished the "Hanswurst", which was so popular with audiences and promoted the brutalization of society with silly antics and so-called Hanswurstiades. The traveling theatres in particular followed the flat comedy spectacle in the hope of success with the audience. A trend that is not unknown to us today. But the courageous Neuberin was not deterred by this and became the most important theater reformer in history.

John von Düffel is a dramaturge, writer and professor of scenic writing at the Berlin University of the Arts. He not only writes his own novels, essays and plays, but also repeatedly adapts major works of fiction such as the novels of Thomas Mann and Uwe Tellkamp for the stage. In summer 2025, John von Düffel will take over the directorship of the E.T.A. Hoffmann Theater in Bamberg.

Price information:

plus 1€ fee in the online ticket store