Robert Lehniger

German theatre director and video artist

Robert Lehniger (born in 1974) is a German theatre director and video artist.

Life and work

Robert Lehniger was born in Weimar in 1974. He studied Mediengestaltung [de] at the Bauhaus University and was an assistant director at the theatre in Basel in 2000–2002. Since then he has worked as an independent director throughout the German, Austrian and Swiss theatre landscape.^[1]

He is known for his uses of video in combination with stage performance, bridging the gap between theatre and cinema. His productions include a 2008 "remake" of Friedrich Hebbel's Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge for the Schauspiel Frankfurt,^[2] a 2010 adaptation of Jean-Luc Godard's film Weekend for the Theater am Neumarkt in Zürich^[3] and a 2012 adaptation of Christian Kracht's novel Faserland for the Schauspiel Hannover.^[4] Since 2016, he has made a series of productions for the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus in a format he calls "to go", where he has staged German classics such as Faust, Nathan the Wise and The Maid of Orleans at various locations around Düsseldorf.^[5]^[6]

From 2019 to 2022, he was professor of acting and head of study program at the Cours Florent in Berlin^[7] and has been Principal of the MetFilm School in Berlin since September 2022.^[8]

In 2021, his production Corpus Delicti based on the novel by Juli Zeh at the Deutsches Theater Berlin was invited to the Ruhrfestspiele^[9] and to the Schäxpir theatre festival for young audiences in Linz.^[10]

He was stage director for the award show for the European Film Awards 2023 in Berlin.^[11]^[12]

Productions (selection)

2005, Schauspiel Frankfurt: God save Amerika by Bljana Srbljanovic
2009, Schauspiel Hannover: The Dreamers after the novel by Gilbert Adair
2013, Deutsche Oper Berlin: Der Ring: Next Generation by Richard Wagner and Alexandra Holtsch^[13]
2018, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus: Nathan (to go) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
2022, Schauspielhaus Bochum: On Connection by Kae Tempest
2023, Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus: The Maid of Orleans (to go) by Friedrich Schiller

References

^ "Lehniger, Robert". nachtkritik.de [de] (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ Boldt, Esther (26 October 2008). "Die Lieder aber schreiben die anderen". nachtkritik.de [de] (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ Ammann, Felizitas (9 February 2010). "Ragout fin". nachtkritik.de [de] (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ "Packende Reise durch Christian Krachts «Faserland»". Die Zeit (in German). 15 April 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ Fiedler, Cornelia (6 February 2018). "Mobilmachung". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ Clemens, Claus (22 January 2023). "Schillers "Jungfrau" geht in die Stadtteile". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved 19 October 2023.
^ "Lehrende Schauspiel Studium | Cours Florent". www.coursflorent.de. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
^ Czyzowska, Elise (2022-11-03). "MetFilm School Berlin welcomes new Principal Robert Lehniger". MetFilm School. Retrieved 2023-12-12.
^ "Corpus Delicti". Ruhrfestspiele (in German). Retrieved 2023-12-12.
^ Penn, Marlene (2021-06-19). "Schäxpir 2021: Corpus Delicti". subtext.at (in German). Retrieved 2023-12-12.
^ Czyzowska, Elise (2023-12-14). "MetFilm School Partners with the 2023 European Film Awards". MetFilm School. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
^ "European Film Awards". europeanfilmawards.eu. Retrieved 2023-12-16.
^ Eddy, Melissa (2013-03-26). "Injecting Fresh Gold Into Wagner's 'Ring'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-12-12.