Born in Berlin, Katharina Birch began her studies in Theater Studies and Musicology at the Freie Universität Berlin in 1998, but mainly worked as an assistant director at the Deutsches Theater Berlin and the Theater Freiburg. During the directorship of Tom Stromberg and Friedrich Schirmer, she was employed as a permanent assistant director at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg. Her first independent directorial work at the Schauspielhaus Hamburg (High Fidelity by Nick Hornby) was invited to the Ruhrfestspiele in Recklinghausen. At the Schauspielhaus Hamburg, she also created several sound installations, directed Pünktchen und Anton by Erich Kästner, and collaborated on the co-production of Harper Regan at the Salzburg Festival. In search of new theatrical impulses, Katharina Birch moved abroad to London, where she lived for eight years and worked for several theater and opera companies. For the Garden Opera Company, she directed The Barber of Seville.
Since 2018, Birch has also been working as a freelance director for various theaters in Germany, such as Schauspielhaus Bochum, Schauspiel Hannover, Deutsches Theater Göttingen, Theater Münster, Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf, and TJG Dresden. Under her artistic direction, the Kulturwerkstatt Leer in East Frisia was established in 2019. She regularly led interdisciplinary art projects there until the end of 2022. In 2021, she developed the exhibition Ich packe meine Koffer – Life Memories of Auguste Moses-Nussbaum for the Former Jewish School Leer. This exhibition featured photographs by Benyamin Reich and (sound) installations by Shorty Gerriets. The city of Marburg engaged her as a director for the Marburg800 anniversary gala with moderator Thomas Koschwitz in 2022. Additionally, she regularly moderates cultural and political events and is politically active as a city councilor with the Bündnis 90/Die Grünen.
Current roles:
- Director in Robin Hood
- Director in Der Struwwelpeter
Past roles:
- Director in Die Fledermaus
- Director in Die Schöne und das Biest