Born at Jena in 1966, Thomas Oberender studied theatre at Berlin’s Humboldt University and “Writing for the Stage” at the city’s College of Arts. Since 1989 he has been working as a literary and theatre critic and has written various essays for radio. In 1994 he was invited to attend the summer school organised by the Royal Court Theatre in London. His first play “Steinwald’s” (premiered at Leipzig in 1995) was awarded the 1993 Frankfurt Authors Foundation Prize. Other plays followed: “Das kalte Herz (i.e.“The Cold Heart”) (Theater Chemnitz 1996), “Drei Tage im Mai” (i.e.“Three Days in May) , Engel und Dämonen” (i.e.“Angels and Demons”) (Wittenberg 1998), and “nachtschwärmer” (i.e.“Lovers of the Night”) (Theater Bielefeld 2000). Apart from that he has also produced much journalism and essays on theatre and literature. Thomas Oberender was a co-founder of the authors group “Theater Neuen Typs, TNT Berlin”. He has been chief dramaturge at the Bochum Schauspielhaus since the 2000/2001 season.
Prizes and Awards:
- 1993 Prize of the Frankfurt Authors Foundation for “Steinwald’s”
- 2000 German Youth Theatre Prize for Nachtschwärmer” (i.e.“Lovers of the Night)
