Andrea Breth

© Bernd Uhlig

Born in Rieden/Füssen on 31 October 1952. Grew up in Darmstadt. 1971-1973 studied literature in Heidelberg. Assistant director at Heidelberg Theatre, then she moved with manager Peter Stoltzenberg to Bremen, there she was assistant director under David Esrig and Christof Nel. First production: “The Enchanted Brothers” by Yevgeny Schwartz (1975). Other productions in Wiesbaden, Bochum, Hamburg and Berlin. After a flop with Lessing’s “Emilia Galotti” in 1981 at the Freie Volksbühne in Berlin, retreat to Zurich, work with student actors.

In 1983 manager Ulrich Brecht brought her to the Freiburg Theatre, where she celebrated an outstanding success with García Lorca’s “The House of Bernada Alba”. She was voted the director of the year in the critics’ survey by “Theater heute” for this. Her next stations were Bochum (1986-1989) and Vienna (1990 and 1992). From 1992 to 1997 artistic manager at the Berlin Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz. After arguments with the ensemble, she announced her departure and in 1999 moved to the Burgtheater in Vienna as in-house director.

Andrea Breth has won numerous awards, including the Fritz Kortner Prize in 1987 and the Nestroy Prize for “Best Director” in 2003. She is a member of the Academy of Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main and of the Academy of the Arts in Berlin.