Oliver Helf first studied architecture at the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Hamburg and fine arts at the Oxfordshire College of Art & Design in England. He then studied costume design under Dirk von Bodisco at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences. He completed his diploma with the set design for the premiere of Jörn Arnecke’s opera Butterfly Blues at the Opera stabile, the studio stage of the Hamburg State Opera – marking the beginning of several collaborations with director Christoph von Bernuth.
After completing his assistant years at Thalia Theater Hamburg in 2008, Oliver Helf has worked as a freelance stage and costume designer for plays, opera, ballet, and dance both in Germany and internationally. From 2013 to 2018, he served as head of set and costume at the Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar. He has designed stage spaces and costumes for productions with directors such as Stephan Kimmig, Hasko Weber, Jan Neumann, Lisa Nielebock, Martin Laberenz, Frank Abt, Max Claessen, Nicolas Stemann, Agnese Cornelio, as well as with choreographers Yaroslav Ivanenko, Johnny Lloyd and Jakop Ahlbom.
Several of his works have been invited to festivals including the Berliner Theatertreffen, the Berliner Autorentheatertage, the Heidelberger Stückemarkt, the Prague Theatre Festival, and the Almagro International Festival for Classical Theatre. On two occasions, his stage designs were nominated for the German theatre prize Faust.
Current roles:
- Stage design in RCE
- Stage design in A play with drama students from the Folkwang University of the Arts