Theater history in Verden: From the beginning to the present!

Theater history in Verden: From the beginning to the present!

Theater history in Verden will shine in a new light from June 18, 2025. On this day, the theme booklet “Theater in Verden about roles, intrigues and marginal figures” will be presented in the council chamber. This 40-page work provides comprehensive documentation of local theater history dating back to 1487. Insights into old photos and contemporary witness reports bring the development of the theater in Verden to life. Admission to the event, which begins at 7 p.m., is free. [Kreizeitung] reports that the project was initiated by the documentation center [doz20-verden.de], in particular through the creative idea of ​​Jago Kusche.

In the period from 1945 to 1975, the “Deutsches Haus” hotel was the place where a lot of theater life took place. Today the editorial offices of the Verdener Aller newspaper are housed there. Heiko Sewekow, who was responsible for the documentation, researched for around three years in various libraries and archives in order to record the facets of theater from the early Passion Plays to the performances of the Lower Saxony-Mitte State Theater.

The first steps in stage art

The first theater performances in Verden were impressive passion plays that hold a special place in the city's cultural history. There were also numerous traveling theaters in the 17th and 18th centuries. From 1848 onwards, performances on parade grounds and in social halls caused a stir - and from 1856 the Tivoli Summer and Winter Theater became the place to go for theater lovers.

Another important location for the theater performances was Bruers Odeon in the Hotel Stadt Bremen, which opened its doors in 1869. However, this diverse cultural landscape was heavily influenced and exploited during National Socialism. [Theater-Info] highlights how the regime tried to use the theater for its own ideology and to put artists at the service of a ethnic worldview.

The influence of theater

After the Second World War, the Landestheater Niedersachsen-Mitte emerged from the “Notgemeinschaft Verden Stage Artists”, which played a formative role in Verden's cultural life from 1949 to 1975. Intendant Conrad Dahlke in particular, who held this position from 1957 to 1963, wanted to “offer good theater at popular prices”. His successor Hans W. Loges viewed the theater as a “platform for social life,” which benefited artistic exchange in the region. The last performance of the Landesbühne took place on June 26, 1975, and since then the theater landscape in Verden has continued to develop.

The new special issue is available to anyone interested for six euros in the Mahnke bookstore, in the documentation center and at the cathedral festival. The reappraisal of theater history not only reflects the artistic currents, but also represents an important examination of the history of Verden. [doz20-verden.de] deals in particular with the dark chapters of the past and wants to counteract forgetting with its projects.

The upcoming event will be an excellent opportunity to immerse ourselves in the living history of the Verden Theater and to better understand the connections between art and society. Be there when Verden celebrates its cultural past!