Waldbühne Heessen

Waldbühne Heessen — fully named Westfälische Freilichtspiele e. V. Waldbühne Heessen — is an amateur open-air theatre in the Heessen district of Hamm, Westphalia, Germany. It is among the most-visited amateur open-air stages in the country and is a founding member of the Verband Deutscher Freilichtbühnen (Association of German Open-Air Stages). The stage is operated by the registered association Westfälische Freilichtspiele e. V., and its venue lies in the Heessen forest, within the Hamm-Heessen city district. The theatre was founded on 7 July 1924 on the initiative of the brothers Anton and August Funke together with Eberhard Rörig, in the courtyard of Schloss Oberwerries in Heessen. A troupe of roughly 100 people initially took the name Naturtheater Oberwerries after its first playing site. When that location soon became too small, the association acquired its own plot and built a wooden grandstand there, inaugurated in 1928 with the play "Josef und seine Brüder" before an audience of 2,000. The name was adapted to the new site in the Heessen forest, becoming Westfälische Heimatspiele – Waldbühne Heessen. By 1930 the grandstand was extended with side structures to seat 3,000, and by the early 1930s annual attendance had risen to as many as 85,000. During the Nazi period, amateur stages were obliged to engage unemployed professional actors, and the NSDAP controlled the theatre's leadership and influenced repertoire choices toward patriotic themes; Georg Thomalla was part of the Heessen troupe and appeared in the "Hermannsschlacht" in 1937. Performances were suspended on 26 August 1939 because of the war, in a year when attendance of 100,000 had been expected for the first time. After 1946 the association decided to perform again, but the bomb-damaged facilities were unusable, so plays were initially staged in halls in the surrounding area. In 1949 "Jedermann" was performed outdoors again in the Heessen castle courtyard; the 1950 season was skipped for reconstruction, and in 1951 "Jungfrau von Orleans" was played before a provisional grandstand in the Heessen forest. Attendance recovered to 56,000 by the mid-1950s, then collapsed and only stabilised at a low level of 20,000 to 26,000 per year by the late 1960s. From the 1970s the venue was modernised: sound reinforcement and lighting systems were added in 1974, and wireless microphones were first used in 1978. Attendance rose again from the 1970s and reached 60,000 by the end of the 1980s. In 1983 the Studiobühne created a winter programme. In the early 1990s planning began for a new grandstand building for about 1,700 guests, housing a studio stage, offices, changing rooms, the props store and other functional rooms, to replace the 1951 provisional structure. The foundation stone was laid on 22 November 1992; the grandstand was completed in 1993, though interior work only finished in 1996, and the interior theatre hall was ready in time for the 75th anniversary. The association's first chairman is Andreas Brochtrop-Wegerich; the former mayor of Hamm, Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann, served for years as second chairman and was succeeded in early 2023 by Jens Wawrzyniak.

Waldbühne Heessen was founded on 7 July 1924 on the initiative of the brothers Anton and August Funke together with Eberhard Rörig, in the courtyard of Schloss Oberwerries in Heessen. A troupe of about 100 people initially called itself Naturtheater Oberwerries after the first playing site. When that site soon became too small, the association acquired its own plot and built a wooden grandstand, inaugurated in 1928 with "Josef und seine Brüder" before 2,000 spectators. The name was adapted to the new site in the Heessen forest, becoming Westfälische Heimatspiele – Waldbühne Heessen. By 1930 the grandstand was extended with side structures to seat 3,000, and by the early 1930s annual attendance had risen to as many as 85,000. During the Nazi period, amateur stages were required to engage unemployed professional actors, and the NSDAP controlled the theatre's leadership and influenced repertoire choices toward patriotic themes. Georg Thomalla was part of the Heessen troupe and appeared in the "Hermannsschlacht" in 1937. Performances were suspended on 26 August 1939 because of the war, in a year when attendance of 100,000 had been expected for the first time. After 1946 the association decided to perform again, but the bomb-damaged facilities were unusable, so plays were initially staged in halls in the surrounding area. In 1949 "Jedermann" was performed outdoors again in the Heessen castle courtyard; the 1950 season was skipped for reconstruction, and in 1951 "Jungfrau von Orleans" was played before a provisional grandstand in the Heessen forest. Attendance recovered to 56,000 by the mid-1950s, then collapsed and only stabilised at a low level of 20,000 to 26,000 per year by the late 1960s. From the 1970s the venue was modernised: sound reinforcement and lighting systems were added in 1974, and wireless microphones were first used in 1978. Attendance rose again from the 1970s and reached 60,000 by the end of the 1980s. In 1983 the Studiobühne created a winter programme. In the early 1990s planning began for a new grandstand building for about 1,700 guests, housing a studio stage, offices, changing rooms, the props store and other functional rooms, to replace the 1951 provisional structure. The foundation stone was laid on 22 November 1992; the grandstand was completed in 1993, though interior work only finished in 1996, and the interior theatre hall was ready in time for the 75th anniversary. The association's first chairman is Andreas Brochtrop-Wegerich; the former mayor of Hamm, Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann, served for years as second chairman and was succeeded in early 2023 by Jens Wawrzyniak.

• 2023

  Jens Wawrzyniak succeeds Thomas Hunsteger-Petermann as second chairman.

• 1996

  Interior work completed; interior theatre hall ready for the 75th anniversary.

• 1993

  Grandstand building completed.

• 1992

  Foundation stone laid on 22 November for the new grandstand building.

• 1983

  Studiobühne created, introducing a winter programme.

• 1978

  Wireless microphones used for the first time.

• 1974

  Sound reinforcement and lighting systems added.

• 1951

  "Jungfrau von Orleans" played before a provisional grandstand in the Heessen forest.

• 1950

  Season skipped for reconstruction of the Waldbühne.

• 1949

  "Jedermann" performed outdoors again in the Heessen castle courtyard.

• 1946

  Decision to perform again; bomb-damaged facilities unusable, so plays staged in surrounding halls.

• 1939

  Performances suspended on 26 August because of the war; 100,000 spectators had been expected for the first time.

• 1937

  Georg Thomalla appears in the "Hermannsschlacht" with the Heessen troupe.

• 1930

  Grandstand extended with side structures to seat 3,000.

• 1928

  New wooden grandstand for 2,000 inaugurated with "Josef und seine Brüder"; name changed to Westfälische Heimatspiele – Waldbühne Heessen.

• 1924

  Founded on 7 July in the courtyard of Schloss Oberwerries as Naturtheater Oberwerries.

One of Germany's most-visited amateur open-air stages, association-run and rooted in Westphalian amateur theatre tradition.

• 1928

  Josef und seine Brüder

• 1937

  Hermannsschlacht

• 1949

  Jedermann

• 1951

  Jungfrau von Orleans

1. 1Waldbühne Heessen – Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Waldbühne Heessen – Wikipedia (German)de.wikipedia.org
3. 3Official websitewaldbuehne-heessen.de