Schauspielhaus
Entrance: Hans-Schalla-Platz, 44789 Bochum
The Schauspielhaus has 811 seats.
In 1914 the city of Bochum decides to purchase the ruined building of the Apollo Variety Theatre at the corner of Königsallee and Oskar Hoffmann Strasse from Clemens Erlemann in order to establish a permanent theatre there. The theatre, whose Jugendstil façade is replaced with a temple frontage, remains without its own ensemble until Saladin Schmitt becomes Artistic Director in 1919 and presents visiting productions from Essen and Düsseldorf. After the theatre is almost completely destroyed in a bomb attack on the city in November 1944, performances are put on in the Park Theatre in the City Park until the 1950s.
In 1953 the theatre is opened in its present form with plans designed by the Berlin architect Gerhard Graubner. To mark the occasion Hans Schalla directs Richard III by William Shakespeare. The first renovations begin in 1979 under Artistic Director Claus Peymann. The under stage machinery is replaced with large rising platforms and heavy steel bars with electric winches are installed in the fly tower. Bochum receives a flexible revolving stage.
Under Artistic Director Matthias Hartmann the Schauspielhaus receives a long overdue complete overhaul in 2000. As part of this process, the foyer and auditorium are refitted in keeping with the building’s protected monument status with colours and fabrics from 1953. Most of the new seats in the main theatre are donated by friends and supporters of the Bochum theatre. Their names are commemorated on plaques on each seat. During this period the flying equipment is also overhauled and new sound and stage manager’s desks installed. In the summer of 2018 a refurbishment lasting several months renovates the ceilings, wall panels and linoleum floor.
Kammerspiele
Entrance: Königsallee 15, 44789 Bochum
The Kammerspiele has 410 seats.
In 1966 the city allows the Schauspielhaus to construct an extension in the form of the Kammerspiele on the site of Haus Rechen, a moated castle from the 15th century that – like the theatre – was destroyed in World War Two. Audience demand under Artistic Director Hans Schalla is considerable, necessitating a second venue, whose construction is planned by the architect Heinz Jentsch, who assisted Gerhard Graubner on the construction of the larger Schauspielhaus.
The Kammerspiele opens with the world premiere of Maximilian Schell’s Herostratus, in which the author not only directs but also plays the leading role. In the course of the renovations conducted while Matthias Hartmann is Artistic Director, a restaurant is established in the Kammerspiele’s open foyer: the Speisekammer. From the start of the 2010/2011 season it is renamed Tanas after the actress Tana Scharanza who died in 2008. In the summer of 2017 the foyer, box office and restaurant area is redesigned.
Oval Office
Entrance: Königsallee 15, 44789 Bochum
(previously Theater Unten / Theater unter Tage / ZadEck)
In 1972 Artistic Director Peter Zadek opens the Theater Unten. With 99 seats, it is the Schauspielhaus’s smallest venue and is located in the basement. Under Leander Haußmann it is renamed the ZadEck and subequently the Theater unter Tage (under Matthias Hartmann and Elmar Goerden) before Anselm Weber renames it the Theater Unten once again in 2010.
The space is re-equipped to the latest technical standards in 2002. Until 2018 it is used for theatre productions and events by the Junge Schauspielhaus as well as smaller visiting productions, readings, concerts and club nights, some of which are presented in conjunction with the Eve Bar.
When the 2018/2019 season opens, the space is relaunched as the Oval Office and turned into a flexible exhibition space for famous international artists working in the fields of film and video art, digital art or spatial and light installations.
The Oval Office includes the Oval Office Bar (previously known as the Eve Bar), a cooperation between the Schauspielhaus Bochum and the KosmoPolis association. The association is organised collectively and finances the programme with the income from the bar. As a place of solidarity, it is a hub in the network of the diverse free, queer, political scene in Bochum. Another Bar is possible!
Theaterrevier
Entrance: Prinz-Regent-Straße 50-60, 44795 Bochum
The Theaterrevier has 99 seats.
The Theaterrevier (formerly Zeche Eins) is located on the site on the former Prinz Regent mine, one of the first coalmines to be closed in the Ruhr region in 1960. Among the surviving surface buildings of the former mine are the washrooms, that are now being used for new purposes.
The venue Zeche Eins was first given it’s name by the choreographer Reinhild Hoffmann, who joined Schauspielhaus Bochum together with her dance theatre from 1986 along with Frank-Patrick Steckel. Her first performance in and for the location was entitled Zeche Eins (‘Zeche’ is the German word for mine). From the beginning of the 2018/2019 season Zeche Eins has become a year-round production house and performance space for Schauspielhaus Bochum.
Since the 2020/2021 season it has been the new venue for the Junges Schauspielhaus under the name Theaterrevier and is used as a stage for children's and youth theater. The Drama Control, a supervisory board composed of 15 children and young adults between 5 and 21, substantially decides on the core principles as well as the program of the Theaterrevier. The creation of the Theaterrevier was made possible by a funding of 1.3 million euros from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the Neue Wege program.
Tanas
Entrance: Königsallee 15, 44789 Bochum
As part of the comprehensive refurbishment in 2000, an 80-seat restaurant, the Speisekammer, was constructed in what had been the open foyer of Kammerspiele. With its large glass frontage and simple modern design the space is still used as a performance venue. Financial support from the Circle of Friends allows the venue to be fitted with lighting and sound equipment at the start of Elmar Goerden’s artistic directorship, enabling performances to be staged here on a regular basis. When Anselm Weber becomes Artistic Director, the Speisekammer is renamed Tanas in memory of Tana Schanzara.