Who Wants a Theatre Company and Doesn’t Have One?

Abstract

Taking a close look at the debate about the replacement of Frank Castorf as director of the Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz in Berlin, I will comment on different aspects of the legacy and potentials of institutional theatre. The relation between representational politics of institutions and the claim for a revolutionary attitude will be discussed as two important but very different demands that could be directed towards arts institutions. Finally, I argue why a reflection on the relations of production from an aesthetic perspective might be a way to sustain the political legitimacy of a theatre company.