Basel trio chosen to lead Munich's Kammerspiele from 2028

The Münchner Kammerspiele is to be run by a three-person leadership team from the 2028/29 season. Anja Dirks, Antú Romero Nunes and Jörg Pohl will jointly lead the theatre from 1 September 2028, initially for five seasons, after the city council's culture committee approved their appointment. The full city council will take the final decision at its next plenary session on 25 November.

The committee followed a recommendation from the head of the city's culture department, which was based on the findings of an earlier selection committee. The trio came out ahead of numerous renowned candidates over several rounds of voting. They currently run the drama division at Theater Basel as a collegial team. They will succeed Barbara Mundel, who took over the theatre in the 2020/21 season and will remain in charge until the end of the 2027/28 season.

Mayor Mona Fuchs, who chaired the jury, said the Münchner Kammerspiele was one of the most important stages in the country. She said the team stood out among the many applications for its participatory leadership model and its aim to preserve and develop both the theatre's avant-garde character and its focus on inclusion. She added that she was sure they would provide important impetus for successful and diverse spoken theatre, well beyond Munich.

Marek Wiechers, head of the city's culture department, thanked the culture committee for backing the choice and said the trio's joint artistic leadership had been widely celebrated in Basel. He said their different but complementary areas of expertise were ideally suited to leading the theatre into a successful future and offering the city's audiences a great theatre experience. "I am looking forward to the Kammerspiele cubed," he said.

In a joint statement, Dirks, Pohl and Nunes said they were extremely pleased to carry forward the theatre's great and inclusive ensemble tradition. They said they wanted to shape the Kammerspiele as a theatre for a world city, "locally rooted, with a cosmopolitan horizon", with international perspectives and openness to the city's community. They described their vision as theatre as "another world within the world: analogue, sensual, physical", with the art of actors working together at its centre.

Anja Dirks is a curator and dramaturge with many years of experience in the national and international theatre and festival scene. Actor Jörg Pohl worked at the Schauspielhaus Zürich and then the Thalia Theater Hamburg before Basel, and in 2023 received the Gertrud Eysoldt Ring, one of the most prestigious theatre awards in the German-speaking world. Director Antú Romero Nunes has worked at major German-language stages including the Thalia Theater Hamburg, the Berliner Ensemble and Vienna's Burgtheater. He is known for his playful, visually striking productions and has twice been invited to the Berliner Theatertreffen.