WELT/BÜHNE
The platform for international drama
WELT/BÜHNE invites audiences to change their point of view, learn more about the world that lies beyond the horizon of their personal experience and familiarise themselves with new languages and voices. As a platform for international contemporary drama, WELT/BÜHNE provides a forum for exchange and conversation, a space for respectful argument and shared reflection on our present. This is particularly important in an age in which nations are increasingly cutting themselves off, border forces are being built higher and higher, travel is not only costly but also subject to every-greater regulation and the «right» passport has become the strongest currency. The guest authors are invited to the Residenztheater for writing residencies that they can use for new projects. In the WELT/BÜHNE Salon they tell us about their works and the conditions under which they operate in their home countries.
WELT/BÜHNE is also a stage for the theatre makers who visit us from Argentina, Chile, Georgia, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Lithuania, Poland, Rwanda, South Africa, South Korea, Uganda, Ukraine and the USA. They come together here once a year, making Munich the centre of international contemporary drama. WELT/BÜHNE – The Festival is now an established presence in the theatre landscape, presenting Residenztheater productions of plays by individual WELT/BÜHNE authors, showcasing exclusive international guest productions and staging a series of readings and discussions.
Supported by the Freunde* des Residenztheaters
WELT/BÜHNE - The authors
Since 2019, WELT/BÜHNE has invited Beniamin M. Bukowski from Poland, Alfredo Staffolani from Argentina, Satoko Ichihara from Japan, Birutė Kapustinskaitė from Lithuania, Asiimwe Deborah Kawe from Uganda, Noa Lazar-Keinan from Israel, Odile Gakire Katese from Rwanda, Natalia Blok and Oleksandr Seredin from Ukraine, Deepika Arwind from India, Pooyan Bagherzadeh from Iran and Koleka Putuma from South Africa to come to Munich for writing residencies.
In the 2024/2025 season, Hong-Do Lee from South Korea and Carla Zúñiga Morales from Santiago de Chile have been invited to take up writing residencies, while Mariam Megvinyte from Georgia and Michael Yates Crowley from the USA have been invited in the 2025/2026 season.
The residencies provided authors with three important resources in the form of time, space and financial support. During the residencies, which lasts several months, they produced texts and plays that are subsequently translated into German.
WELT/BÜHNE – The Salons
Each author is introduced to the audience during their residency. In the WELT/BÜHNE Salon, actors of the Residenztheater ensemble read the guests' new texts - followed by a discussion to get to know the authors and ask questions: What role does theatre play in their home countries? What are the working conditions like? What is the fascination for theatre? But also: How do they view us and the German-speaking theatre landscape?
WELT/BÜHNE – THE FESTIVAL 2025
WELCOME TO A GLOBAL PLAYWRIGHTS' UTOPIA!
In the first week of June, Munich will once again become a hub for international contemporary drama. We look forward to welcoming authors from around the world to the city – artists who act as seismographs of our time, offering vital perspectives to help us navigate the complexities of the present.
You may encounter familiar faces at the third edition of the festival. At its heart, WELT/BÜHNE seeks to forge connections that span continents — and that last beyond the seven days. Each year, the WELT/BÜHNE collective grows, enriched by new authors and theatre-makers, often recommended by fellow participants. In this way, the programme is curated «from within».
For this year’s edition, WELT/BÜHNE authors explore the theme of borders and present their reflections in the audio walk «Borders between us». As border fences rise ever higher and the «right» passport becomes the world’s actual currency, we ask: can shared intellectual and sensual experiences in the theatre help us transcend both geographical and ideological divisions – or is that merely a utopian dream?
This year’s festival features guest performances from Chile, Iran, and the United States (performed in their original languages), readings with the Residenztheater ensemble, artist talks with invited experts, productions of the Residenztheater – and of course, parties. Let’s celebrate theatre, this «strange gift of the present» (Thom Luz), together.
WELT/BÜHNE - The Festival 2024
The second edition of WELT/BÜHNE - The Festival took place in June 2024: For the first time, «Sohn einer Mutter. Mutter eines Sohns.» and «Lysistrata macht Urlaub», two in-house productions by WELT/BÜHNE authors from Iran and Ukraine were premiered, international guest performances were shown, the authors of the upcoming residencies were presented in readings and all WELT/BÜHNE authors were brought together on stage and in conversation on one evening.
WELT/BÜHNE - Festival 2025 was organised in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut and with the support of the Friends* of the Residenztheater. The guest performances «Hullo, Bu-Bye, Koko, Come In» and «Blind Runner» were made possible by a private foundation that the Friends* Association was able to secure.
WELT/BÜHNE – The Festival 2023
The first edition of «WELT/BÜHNE - The Festival» took place in June 2023: Over 30 authors from all over the world were presented. Two guest performances from Israel and Rwanda were shown, further texts were presented in staged readings and controversial topics relating to contemporary drama were discussed. There were also closed events such as an encounter with translators.