Shows with English Surtitles

Intrigues, conspiracies, political intrigues - Schiller's tragedy depicts the power struggle between the English Queen Elizabeth I and the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart. But what if only chance decides between power and powerlessness? Then the roles could also be »swapped«. For each performance, a draw is held to decide which of the two actresses will play the victor or the vanquished.

A longtime favourite of Munich audiences, the exceptional actor Manfred Zapatka, appears as one of William Shakespeare’s great title characters: King Lear. The play is a character study of an ageing, unpredictable patriarch and tyrant. 

11 January 2026: When the Süddeutsche Zeitung reposted a profile of Residenztheater actor Delschad Numan Khorschid, the comments suddenly came flooding in – including countless racist attacks. Khorschid documented these online reactions and his feelings in great detail, and is now bringing his text to the stage together with his fellow cast members.

»Two souls dwell, oh! in my breast« – with these words Goethe’s Faust describes not only a personal drama, but an experience of modern subjectivity: the ego manifests itself as a texture of contradictory forces.  Goethe’s drama presents modern man as driven by a principle of continuous escalation – caught between self-control, consumerism and destruction. Ulrich Rasche presents these events as an interiorised chamber play. Its characters embody the forces of a conflicted consciousness; Mephisto becomes a dark shadow of the protagonist himself.

The legendary musical »Cabaret« entices us into the dazzling world of the Kit Kat Club in the 1930s. Every night the enigmatic Sally Bowles thrills the audience with her famous song »Life is a Cabaret«, a celebration of decadence and diversity. The young American Clifford Bradshaw is caught up in this intensely sensual world. Yet, at the same time, something dark is becoming an ever-stronger presence in the daily lives of these exuberant fun-lovers.

Intrigues, conspiracies, political intrigues - Schiller's tragedy depicts the power struggle between the English Queen Elizabeth I and the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart. But what if only chance decides between power and powerlessness? Then the roles could also be »swapped«. For each performance, a draw is held to decide which of the two actresses will play the victor or the vanquished.

Oedipus, the lead candidate of a new political movement, is as good as assured of election victory. But why are the circumstances of his predecessor’s fatal road traffic accident classified? And what is the fake news regarding his origins about? Oedipus starts to investigate – despite all the warnings. As in his updating of Schnitzler’s »The Doctor«, Robert Icke has radically translated a theatre classic into the present. Icke’s »Oedipus« looks behind the myth and is both a family tragedy and a political thriller.

The legendary musical »Cabaret« entices us into the dazzling world of the Kit Kat Club in the 1930s. Every night the enigmatic Sally Bowles thrills the audience with her famous song »Life is a Cabaret«, a celebration of decadence and diversity. The young American Clifford Bradshaw is caught up in this intensely sensual world. Yet, at the same time, something dark is becoming an ever-stronger presence in the daily lives of these exuberant fun-lovers.

Asiimwe Deborah Kawe's play tells the story of the life's work of an undocumented immigrant. Like so many others, the nurse Achen, the author's main character, contributes with her labour and as a taxpayer to the prosperity of a country that has decided to expel her overnight.

Oedipus, the lead candidate of a new political movement, is as good as assured of election victory. But why are the circumstances of his predecessor’s fatal road traffic accident classified? And what is the fake news regarding his origins about? Oedipus starts to investigate – despite all the warnings. As in his updating of Schnitzler’s »The Doctor«, Robert Icke has radically translated a theatre classic into the present. Icke’s »Oedipus« looks behind the myth and is both a family tragedy and a political thriller.

A longtime favourite of Munich audiences, the exceptional actor Manfred Zapatka, appears as one of William Shakespeare’s great title characters: King Lear. The play is a character study of an ageing, unpredictable patriarch and tyrant. 

»Two souls dwell, oh! in my breast« – with these words Goethe’s Faust describes not only a personal drama, but an experience of modern subjectivity: the ego manifests itself as a texture of contradictory forces.  Goethe’s drama presents modern man as driven by a principle of continuous escalation – caught between self-control, consumerism and destruction. Ulrich Rasche presents these events as an interiorised chamber play. Its characters embody the forces of a conflicted consciousness; Mephisto becomes a dark shadow of the protagonist himself.

»Two souls dwell, oh! in my breast« – with these words Goethe’s Faust describes not only a personal drama, but an experience of modern subjectivity: the ego manifests itself as a texture of contradictory forces.  Goethe’s drama presents modern man as driven by a principle of continuous escalation – caught between self-control, consumerism and destruction. Ulrich Rasche presents these events as an interiorised chamber play. Its characters embody the forces of a conflicted consciousness; Mephisto becomes a dark shadow of the protagonist himself.