Venues

In 1953 the theatre is opened in its present form with plans designed by the Berlin architect Gerhard Graubner. To mark the occasion Hans Schalla directs Richard III by William Shakespeare. The first renovations begin in 1979 under Artistic Director Claus Peymann. The under stage machinery is replaced with large rising platforms and heavy steel bars with electric winches are installed in the fly tower.  Bochum receives a flexible revolving stage.

Under Artistic Director Matthias Hartmann the Schauspielhaus receives a long overdue complete overhaul in 2000. As part of this process, the foyer and auditorium are refitted in keeping with the building’s protected monument status with colours and fabrics from 1953. Most of the new seats in the main theatre are donated by friends and supporters of the Bochum theatre. Their names are commemorated on plaques on each seat.  During this period the flying equipment is also overhauled and new sound and stage manager’s desks installed. In the summer of 2018 a refurbishment lasting several months renovates the ceilings, wall panels and linoleum floor.

The Kammerspiele opens with the world premiere of Maximilian Schell’s Herostratus, in which the author not only directs but also plays the leading role.  In the course of the renovations conducted while Matthias Hartmann is Artistic Director, a restaurant is established in the Kammerspiele’s open foyer: the Speisekammer. From the start of the 2010/2011 season it is renamed Tanas after the actress Tana Scharanza who died in 2008. In the summer of 2017 the foyer, box office and restaurant area is redesigned.

The space is re-equipped to the latest technical standards in 2002. Until 2018 it is used for theatre productions and events by the Junge Schauspielhaus as well as smaller visiting productions, readings, concerts and club nights, some of which are presented in conjunction with the Eve Bar.

When the 2018/2019 season opens, the space is relaunched as the Oval Office and turned into a flexible exhibition space for famous international artists working in the fields of film and video art, digital art or spatial and light installations. 

The venue Zeche Eins was first given it’s name by the choreographer Reinhild Hoffmann, who joined Schauspielhaus Bochum together with her dance theatre from 1986 along with Frank-Patrick Steckel. Her first performance in and for the location was entitled Zeche Eins (‘Zeche’ is the German word for mine). From the beginning of the 2018/2019 season Zeche Eins has become a year-round production house and performance space for Schauspielhaus Bochum.

Since the 2020/2021 season it has been the new venue for the Junges Schauspielhaus under the name Theaterrevier and is used as a stage for children's and youth theater. The Drama Control, a supervisory board composed of 15 children and young adults between 5 and 21, substantially decides on the core principles as well as the program of the Theaterrevier. The creation of the Theaterrevier was made possible by a funding of 1.3 million euros from the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the Neue Wege program.