Theatre

Theatre in the Erholungshaus

Reiner Ernst Ohle

The 100-year history of our house began with a guest performance of a classic play – Lessing’s Minna von Barnhelm – by the Stadttheater Elberfeld. This company had been invited to appear for the benefit of Bayer’s own theatre group, which already existed before the Erholungshaus opened in September 1908, and their first guest performance was to have a lasting effect.
A great deal has happened since then. In addition to two world wars, the 20th century brought breathtakingly fast scientific, technical and economic advances that have given people in the western industrial societies greater mobility and access to vast cultural, artistic, leisure and media offerings. Theatre in the Erholungshaus has changed profoundly, and this is reflected in the alterations to the building, in the modernization of the stage, sound, lighting and auditorium, and not least in the programmes of the last hundred years. Theatre cannot be presented just anywhere. A cultural programme is not a pedagogical and didactic canon for combating deficits in the education system. If a programme were to feature only plays that are part of the central examination curriculum, this would be just as misguided as any attempt to turn the Erholungshaus into a venue for the masses.
In this age of globalization, life is becoming faster, more anonymous and increasingly vulnerable. Many people today lack any form of emotional anchor and there is a widespread fear of becoming superfluous or even dispensable. Theatre in the Erholungshaus solicits trust in the world of images, words, music and movement. It is meaningful, palpable and unrepeatable. Theatre is often a stage for the weird, the forgotten or the suppressed, playfully demanding and encouraging contemplation and reflection.
Theatre in the Erholungshaus is staged as an exciting, sensual, entertaining and intellectually challenging experience. It is not a service but above all a “guest performance” focusing on our guests – the cast and the audience.