Berliner Ensemble

Berliner Ensemble, German theater company established in January 1949 by German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht and his wife, Austrian actor Helene Weigel. Its reputation rests on its productions of Brecht’s plays, although the group began to add plays by other dramatists to its repertory in the 1970s.

The Berliner Ensemble was founded in East Berlin as a touring company associated with the city’s resident Deutsches Theater. The group originally served as a sort of theatrical laboratory, where Brecht could test and refine his theories on acting and directing. Key among his theories was the importance of Verfremdungseffekt (alienation or estrangement effect), by which the spectators were made to perceive the artificiality of theater and acting. Brecht’s plays often achieved this effect when actors stepped outside the play and addressed the audience directly. Several of his plays were also intended to instruct audiences in the doctrines of Communism. The company’s first production, Brecht’s play Mutter Courage und Ihre Kinder (1949; translated as Mother Courage and Her Children), was a resounding success in which Weigel delivered a powerful performance as Mother Courage. In 1954 the ensemble moved into the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. Brecht continued to direct shows and managed the company until his death in 1956. Notable productions include Brecht’s Der kaukasische Kreidekreis (1954; The Caucasian Chalk Circle) and his adaptation of Coriolanus (1964) by English writer William Shakespeare. Tours of several plays in England and France met with enthusiasm and critical approval, and theater groups began to imitate the Berliner Ensemble’s style and approach.

After Brecht’s death, Weigel continued managing the Berliner Ensemble on her own. After Weigel’s death in 1971 the company expanded its repertory to include works of other 20th-century European playwrights, while still mounting productions of Brecht’s plays. The group continued to tour in Europe and North America, but financial and artistic difficulties clouded its future, especially following the fall of Communism in 1989.