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Theatertreffen

Key Visual Theatertreffen der Jugend 2026

The Selection Has been Announced

The programme will be published on 2 April

The 10 Most Remarkable Productions 2026

On 13 January, the Theatertreffen’s jury of critics announced their selection of the 10 most remarkable productions for the 2026 Theatertreffen at a press conference. Our congratulations go to the nominated production teams and all participants!

To the 10 most remarkable productions
View from the Upper Foyer of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele onto a blossoming chestnut tree

© Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

Mehr Drama!

Writers present their choice of new playwriting

A personally curated survey of contemporary playwriting is presented in the new Theatertreffen format Mehr Drama!, conceived in collaboration with the Verband Deutscher Bühnen- und Medienverlage (VDB). Six theatre publishers have asked distinguished playwrights from their programmes each to recommend one emerging playwright whose work will be presented at Theatertreffen in a reading with a distinguished cast. In 2026 the selection will be made by;  Sivan Ben Yishai, Necati Öziri, Sasha Marianna Salzmann, Ferdinand Schmalz, Gerhild Steinbuch and Paula Thielecke.  

The playwrights who have been selected will be announced at Theatertreffen’s programme presentation. 

A collaboration between Theatertreffen produced by Berliner Festspiele with the theatre publishers Felix Bloch Erben, S. Fischer Verlage, henschel Schauspiel, Rowohlt Verlag, Suhrkamp Verlag, Verlag der Autoren and the Verband Deutscher Bühnen- und Medienverlage e.V. Funded by Heinz und Heide Dürr Stiftung.

About Theatertreffen

Every year, a jury of critics selects the 10 most remarkable productions from up to 600 productions from the German-language region to be presented in Berlin in May.

Read more

At a Glance

  • The 10 Productions

    Each year, the 10 most remarkable productions are selected by a jury of critics from more than 700 shows within the German-language region and the viewing period.

    More about the 10 productions
  • Participants of the International Forum 2024 on the site of “Radical Playgrounds” in front of Gropius Bau.

    International Forum

    The International Forum is an initial impetus for collaboration, the search for diverse local perspectives on global issues, and a free space for developing artistic ideas together.

    More about the International Forum
  • A group of people stand in the garden of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele at night.

    Theatertreffen-Blog

    Aspiring arts journalists with a keen interest in the theatre will attend and critically reflect the Theatertreffen with the support of experienced mentors.

    More about the Theatertreffen-Blog

In the Media Library

A man stands with his arms folded next to a seated woman in a pink costume, behind them are people with instruments.

Unser Deutschlandmärchen

© Ute Langkafel MAIFOTO

3sat “Starke Stücke” 2025

Missed the performance? No worries: The recordings of “Bernarda Albas Haus”, “Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar / Würgendes Blei”, “Double Serpent” and “Unser Deutschlandmärchen” – the four 2025 “Starke Stücke” of 3sat – will be accessible in the 3sat Media Library and the Berliner Festspiele Media Library until 2 May 2026.

To the Media Library

Theatertreffen 2025

Impressions

  • Prize winner Anita Vulesica

    3sat-Preis 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble of “Double Serpent” accepts the applause.

    Ensemble “Double Serpent”, Staatstheater Wiesbaden

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Prize winner Carmen Steinert and juror Bettina Stucky pose with flowers and certificate

    Alfred-Kerr-Darstellerpreis 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Audience listens to a speech.

    Alfred-Kerr-Darstellerpreis 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble shows their Theatertreffen-certificate.

    Artists’ accolade “Bernarda Albas Haus”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble of “Blutbuch” accepts the applause.

    Ensemble “Blutbuch”, Theater Magdeburg

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • A large group of people applaud the ensemble.

    Artists’ accolade “Blutbuch”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The audience waits for admission to the performance in front of the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

    Theatertreffen 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble of “Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar / Würgendes Blei” accepts the applause.

    Ensemble “Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar / Würgendes Blei”, Residenztheater / Bayerisches Staatsschauspiel, München

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Nora Hertlein-Hull presents director Luise Voigt with the Theatertreffen-certificate. The ensemble is in the background.

    Artists’ accolade “Die Gewehre der Frau Carrar / Würgendes Blei”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble of “Die Maschine oder: Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh” accepts the applause.

    Ensemble “Die Maschine oder: Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh”, Deutsches SchauSpielHaus Hamburg

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Nora Hertlein-Hull speaking in a microphone

    Nora Hertlein-Hull

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Amitesh Grover stands next to a screen onto which a Zoom video call is projected.

    “Zoom Out: A Surreal Snapshot of the World”, Amitesh Grover

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • People with VR glasses

    “[EOL]. End of Life. Eine virtuelle Ruinenlandschaft”, DARUM and brut Wien

    © Berliner Festspiele, Foto: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Nora Hertlein-Hull presents DARUM with the Theatertreffen-certificate. The artistic team is in the background.

    Artists’ accolade “[EOL]. End of Life”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • A group of people sit in a circle on the floor and talk to each other.

    Internationales Forum 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • A group of people stand in a circle in front of the Uferstudios.

    Internationales Forum 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Matthias Pees presents Fabian Hinrichs with the Theatertreffen-certificate. The ensemble is in the background.

    Artists’ accolade “ja nichts ist ok”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The jury members talking on stage.

    Concluding Jury Discussion 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble of “Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78” accepts the applause.

    Ensemble “Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78”, Sadler’s Wells, Pina Bausch Foundation, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Meryl Tankard shows their Theatertreffen-certificate. The ensemble is in the background.

    Artists' accolade “Kontakthof – Echoes of ’78”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • A performer on stage with his hands outstretched towards the camera.

    “Made in China 2.0”, Wang Chong

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Two people talking.

    Panel “Narrowing Spaces – Artistic Answers to Political Pressure”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Standing ovations as the ensemble receives the applause

    “SANCTA”, Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Nora Hertlein-Hull presents director Florentina Holzinger with the Theatertreffen-certificate. The ensemble is in the background.

    Artists’ accolade “SANCTA”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Two people on all fours with naked upper bodies lying partly on top of each other.

    “Something is Approaching”, Carolina Mendonça

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Christopher Rüping receives the theatre prize.

    Theaterpreis Berlin 2025

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • A person in a long white dress dances in the spotlight on a stage.

    Theatertreffen party with Drag Show

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • A person with headphones over a mixing console

    Theatertreffen party

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Two people talking

    Panel “And Now? Strategies and Alliances Against the Great Cultural Depression”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • The ensemble of “Unser Deutschlandmärchen” accepts the applause.

    Ensemble “Unser Deutschlandmärchen”, Maxim Gorki Theater

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Two performers sit at a coffee table surrounded by the audience.

    “Wanaset Yodit”, Laila Soliman

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

  • Three people sit next to each other at tables, water bottles and microphones in front of them.

    Reading “Text, Tisch, Wasserglas II”

    © Berliner Festspiele, photo: Fabian Schellhorn

More Berliner Festspiele

Gropius Bau |

Exhibition

Peter Hujar / Liz Deschenes: Persistence of Vision

19 March to 28 June 2026

Working in New York City between the Stonewall uprising of 1969 and the onset of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, Peter Hujar captured a pivotal cultural moment in piercing black-and-white photographs. In the exhibition Persistence of Vision, Hujar’s photographs are interspersed with contemporary works by New York City-based artist Liz Deschenes, opening up an intergenerational dialogue on photography. 

Collage of three individuals perceived as female, whose faces are partially painted with colorful dots and collaged with floral motifs.

Gropius Bau |

Performance

Leila Hekmat: Roses Rising – The Movement  

6 & 7 March 2026

How does the bourgeois longing for revolt take shape, when the faith in progress and reason is unsettled? Berlin-based artist and director Leila Hekmat explores this question in her newly commissioned performance Roses Rising – The Movement. Moving between concert and ballet, the piece transforms the space into a landscape hovering between bunker, rehearsal room and dreamscape and invites the audience to witness a dinner party unravel into a happening.