Roland Schimmelpfennig: Anthropolis
Theatre |Five-play cycle in development in English translation for international stages
-
Necessary Angel Theatre Company Toronto
- Language English
David Tushingham has been commissioned by the Goethe-Institut Toronto to translate Berlin playwright Roland Schimmelpfennig's epic modern revisioning of the founding of Thebes and its fateful inhabitants, breathing new life into the Greek tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides in partnership with Necessary Angel Theatre Company, who will produce the works for Canadian and global stages over the coming years.
Necessary Angel has a fruitful history with Schimmelpfennig: in 2025 the company presented the English-language Canadian premiere of Schimmelpfennig’s Winter Solstice, translated by Tushingham. In 2021 Necessary Angel released the English-language world premiere of Schimmelpfennig & Tushingham’s The Great Fire as a four-part audio drama, which has gone on to be presented multiple times in Toronto, and at the Stratford Festival. In 2018 Soulpepper Theatre Company produced Schimmelpfennig’s Indomeneus under the direction of Alan Dilworth, and the show was nominated for five Dora Awards.
“We are thrilled to work with the Goethe-Institut, Roland, and David to bring the Anthropolis cycle to Canada,” said Necessary Angel Theatre Company Artistic Director Alan Dilworth. Anthropolis is considered a masterpiece in the contemporary German dramatic canon. We look forward to sharing it with audiences in Toronto and beyond.”
The Goethe-Institut Toronto's relationship with Roland Schimmelpfennig goes back to their award-winning SummerWorks production of The Arabian Night in 2004, and many intersections and presentations since that time with Germany's most-staged playwright.
“What makes Anthropolis --the largest single translation commission in the history of the Goethe-Institut's global “Theatre Library”-- so intriguing for our international cultural work are its current echoes of democracy under siege, and we couldn't be happier to realize it in Canada (and taking it to Europe and beyond in the future) than with our long-time partners at Necessary Angel.” - Goethe-Institut Toronto.
Roland Schimmelpfennig, born in 1967, is one of the most performed contemporary playwrights in the world. He worked as a journalist in Istanbul and was engaged at the Munich Kammerspiele after studying directing at the Otto Falckenberg School. Since 1996 Roland Schimmelpfennig has been working as a freelance author. His plays are performed with great success in over 40 countries worldwide from Vienna’s Burgtheater to Tokyo's National Theatre. In 2016, his first novel "On a cold, clear January morning at the beginning of the 21st century" was published and which was shortlisted for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. To date he has written three dozen stage and radio plays.
David Tushingham’s translations of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s plays, mostly realized through the Goethe Translation Grant, have been performed in Great Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. His other translations include: Mr. Kolpert, Waiting Room Germany, Stranger’s House, Jeff Koons, State of Emergency and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. He has worked as a dramaturg and curator for numerous high-profile European institutions and is currently Artistic Advisor to the Salzburg Festival.
Related links:
Goethe-Institut Toronto: Focus on Roland Schimmelpfennig
Anthropolis at Theatertreffen 2024
Goethe-Institut Theatre Library
Necessary Angel Theatre Company Toronto
Necessary Angel has a fruitful history with Schimmelpfennig: in 2025 the company presented the English-language Canadian premiere of Schimmelpfennig’s Winter Solstice, translated by Tushingham. In 2021 Necessary Angel released the English-language world premiere of Schimmelpfennig & Tushingham’s The Great Fire as a four-part audio drama, which has gone on to be presented multiple times in Toronto, and at the Stratford Festival. In 2018 Soulpepper Theatre Company produced Schimmelpfennig’s Indomeneus under the direction of Alan Dilworth, and the show was nominated for five Dora Awards.
“We are thrilled to work with the Goethe-Institut, Roland, and David to bring the Anthropolis cycle to Canada,” said Necessary Angel Theatre Company Artistic Director Alan Dilworth. Anthropolis is considered a masterpiece in the contemporary German dramatic canon. We look forward to sharing it with audiences in Toronto and beyond.”
The Goethe-Institut Toronto's relationship with Roland Schimmelpfennig goes back to their award-winning SummerWorks production of The Arabian Night in 2004, and many intersections and presentations since that time with Germany's most-staged playwright.
“What makes Anthropolis --the largest single translation commission in the history of the Goethe-Institut's global “Theatre Library”-- so intriguing for our international cultural work are its current echoes of democracy under siege, and we couldn't be happier to realize it in Canada (and taking it to Europe and beyond in the future) than with our long-time partners at Necessary Angel.” - Goethe-Institut Toronto.
Roland Schimmelpfennig, born in 1967, is one of the most performed contemporary playwrights in the world. He worked as a journalist in Istanbul and was engaged at the Munich Kammerspiele after studying directing at the Otto Falckenberg School. Since 1996 Roland Schimmelpfennig has been working as a freelance author. His plays are performed with great success in over 40 countries worldwide from Vienna’s Burgtheater to Tokyo's National Theatre. In 2016, his first novel "On a cold, clear January morning at the beginning of the 21st century" was published and which was shortlisted for the Leipzig Book Fair Prize. To date he has written three dozen stage and radio plays.
David Tushingham’s translations of Roland Schimmelpfennig’s plays, mostly realized through the Goethe Translation Grant, have been performed in Great Britain, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and India. His other translations include: Mr. Kolpert, Waiting Room Germany, Stranger’s House, Jeff Koons, State of Emergency and The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. He has worked as a dramaturg and curator for numerous high-profile European institutions and is currently Artistic Advisor to the Salzburg Festival.
Related links:
Goethe-Institut Toronto: Focus on Roland Schimmelpfennig
Anthropolis at Theatertreffen 2024
Goethe-Institut Theatre Library
Necessary Angel Theatre Company Toronto
Location
Necessary Angel Theatre Company Toronto