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John Kampfner giving a speech with microphone infront Goethe-Institut London

Goethe Annual Lecture

In the tradition of our previous series, the Brady Lecture, the Goethe Annual Lecture invites acclaimed speakers to share their perspectives on the themes that we explore through our cultural work, and on the most pressing issues that societies are facing in the United Kingdom, Germany and worldwide. 

A pla takes place onstage. Actors sit inside a car while being filmed from outside the car. Gianmarco Bresadola

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Goethe Annual Lecture 2023

Join us for the next in our annual lecture series. The Lecture will take place in our auditorium and will be followed by a reception in the Goethe-Institut London Library. Katie Mitchell describes 15 years of working in Germany and how the productions she directed there and the culture she encountered changed her working practice and her view of British theatre.

A woman in a climbing frame © GuidoSchiefer

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Goethe Annual Lecture 2022

To celebrate our 60th Anniversary, we hosted three Goethe Annual Lectures in 2022. Our speakers included Mercedes Bunz, Mithu Sanyal and Dr Matthew Herbert.  

Figurines in a museum © 2019 Alamy Ltd.

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Goethe Annual Lecture 2021

Professor Dan Hicks on the topic: "Unrechtskontexte" (Contexts of injustics): Dismantling colonial legacies from Berlin to London. 
 

Photo of Sharon Dodua Otoo © Sharon Dodua Otoo

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Goethe Annual Lecture 2020

Sharon Dodua Otto on the topic: "Some kind of tomorrow": Honouring the visions of the Black Feminist creative authors. 
 

Previous speakers

Past speakers of our annual Lecture include John Kampfner (2019), Brendan Simms (2018), Anne McElvoy (2017), Neil MacGregor (2016), Christopher Clark (2014), David Chipperfield (2012), Norman Rosenthal (2010), Tacita Dean (2006), Peter Jonas (2005), Ian Kershaw (2003), Richard Wentworth (2002) and AS Byatt (2001).

You can view recordings of previous lectures by following the link here.
 

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