René Pollesch, born in 1962 in Friedberg/Hessen, died in 2024 in Berlin, was one of the most important and influential German-speaking playwrights and directors of the last few decades.
He studied Applied Theatre Science at the University of Giessen, where he also realized his first own plays and productions. After his studies, he worked with his own company in Frankenthal, then directed his own plays at the Theater Am Turm (TAT) in Frankfurt am Main, and after that, he was writer/director-in-residence at the Theater Luzern in 1999/2000 and at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg in 2000/2001.
From 2001 to 2007, he was the artistic director of the Prater of Volksbühne at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin.
In addition to his productions at Volksbühne, René Pollesch also worked at numerous other theatres, at most of them regularly, such as the Burgtheater Vienna, the Kammerspiele Munich, the Schauspielhaus Zurich, the Staatstheater Stuttgart, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, and the Deutsches Theater Berlin.
From autumn 2021 until his sudden death in February 2024, he was the artistic director of Volksbühne at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz, Berlin.
In 2002, he was a visiting professor at the Goethe University Frankfurt, in 2002/2003 at the University of Giessen, and in 2004 at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna.
In addition to his theatre work, Pollesch also wrote and directed radio plays and made films.
He received many awards for his work, including twice the prestiguous Mülheimer Playwright's Award (for world-wide-web slums 2001 and for Cappuccetto Rosso 2006), the Nestroy Prize (for Das purpurne Muttermal 2007), the Else Lasker Schüler Playwright's Prize for his complete works (2012), the Jürgen Bansemer & Ute Nyssen Playwright's Award (2018) and the Arthur Schnitzler Prize (2019). In 2012, he was admitted to the Academy of Arts (Section «Performing Arts») in Berlin. With the «Prater Trilogy» (Stadt als Beute / Insourcing at Home. People in Crap Hotels / Sex) and Kill Your Darlings! Streets of Berladelphia he was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen in 2002 and 2012 respectively.
