Berliner Ensemble

Berliner Ensemble, theatre company founded in 1949 in East Berlin by Brecht and his wife Helene Weigel. It was first housed at the Deutsches Theater and in 1954 moved to the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm. It achieved pre-eminence in Germany and world-wide acclaim with its productions of Brecht's plays, directed by himself and after his death, when his widow took over, by Palitzsch, Besson, and others. By 1974, its 25th anniversary, the company had staged a total of 54 productions and developed a very personal style of acting and presentation designed to prevent the suspension of disbelief and encourage in the audience, as was Brecht's desire, a critical appraisal of the play. To avoid the danger, apparent since the mid-1960s, of turning itself into a Brecht museum, the company has extended its repertoire to include Büchner, Shaw, Wedekind, and Heiner Müller, as well as continuing to present selected plays from the entire Brecht canon. The company was received with great enthusiasm in Paris in 1954 and 1955 and visited London in 1956 (just after Brecht died) and 1965. Manfred Wekwerth (1929– ) became its manager in 1977, after an association dating from 1951. His production of Brecht's adaptation of Coriolanus was seen at the Old Vic in 1965 during the company's visit, and in 1971 he directed Shakespeare's original play for the National Theatre.