Theater der Keller
Cologne's oldest private theatre, founded in 1955 — contemporary programme with many world premieres and its own acting school.
Theater der Keller is considered Cologne's oldest private theatre and works closely with its affiliated acting school, Schauspielschule der Keller.
Source: Wikipedia
At a Glance
- Type
- Private theatre with affiliated acting school
- Founded
- 1955 by the actor couple Marianne Jentgens and Heinz Opfinger
- Name origin
- First venue was a former air-raid shelter ("Keller" = cellar)
- Location
- Since 2019 in Cologne-Deutz (workshop hall of TanzFaktur)
- Programme
- Contemporary plays, many world and German premieres
- Awards
- Multiple winner of the Kölner Theaterpreis, among others
The Theater der Keller opened in 1955 in a former air-raid shelter – this unusual founding location gave Cologne's oldest private theatre its name.
History
The couple opened their acting school in 1954, a year before the theatre itself. The first venue was a former air-raid shelter in Cologne's Lindenthal district on Herderstraße — the source of the name "der Keller". The theatre opened on 11 October 1955 with Jean-Paul Sartre's No Exit. Jentgens and Opfinger ran the house together until their separation in 1970, after which Marianne Jentgens led it alone until her death in 1974.
Changing Venues
The theatre relocated several times over the decades. In 1957 it was displaced by expansion plans of the neighbouring St. Anna Hospital and found a new stage in an old villa on Wörthstraße in northern Cologne, near the Bastei. In 1974, theatre and school moved into a former maternity clinic in Cologne's Südstadt, opposite St. Paul's Church. In 2019 the theatre left that venue and moved to the workshop hall of TanzFaktur in Cologne-Deutz.
Programme and Acting School
The repertoire was defined by contemporary works, including many world and German premieres addressing current political and social themes, often with a local angle. Post-show discussions with the audience were a regular feature. Once per season, the affiliated acting school presented a graduation production by its students on the main stage.
Leadership and Financial Pressures
From the 2013/14 season, Heinz Simon Keller served as artistic director; in early March 2025 he was dismissed without notice for financial reasons and compliance violations. In June 2017, the German Cultural Council placed the theatre on its "Red List" early-warning register, classifying it in Category 3.
Awards
Productions and students of the house have received multiple awards from the SK Stiftung Kultur. The theatre has won the Kölner Theaterpreis and the Kurt-Hackenberg-Preis for political theatre on several occasions. The Puck young talent award has gone to graduates of the acting school seventeen times.
Timeline
- 1954Schauspielschule der Keller founded
- 1955Theater der Keller founded by Jentgens and Opfinger
- 1955-10-11Opening performance: Sartre's 'No Exit'
- 1957Relocated from Herderstraße to Wörthstraße in northern Cologne
- 1962Six-month closure for fire safety renovations
- 1974New home in Kleingedankstraße, Südstadt (former maternity clinic)
- 2019Relocated to Cologne-Deutz, Siegburger Straße 235 (TanzFaktur)
- 2025Director Heinz Simon Keller dismissed without notice
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Sources & links
Auto-generated, last verified: 2026-06-27
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