The State Theater of Lower Saxony North (LBNN) is a theater founded in 1952 and located in Wilhelmshaven. Originating from the Ostfriesische Landesbühne in Leer, it is now one of two Landesbühnes in Lower Saxony (alongside the Theater für Niedersachsen in Hildesheim). One of the special features of these theaters is that they not only provide theater art for their hometown and administrative headquarters but also a large performance area in rural areas. In the case of the Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord, which traveled as far as the Lüneburg Heath in the 1950s, the venues initially changed every year. Today, the theater presents its productions in a region inhabited by 720,000 people, ranging from Ostfriesland to Emsland and Oldenburger Münsterland.
The Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord employs over 100 people, including 22 actors, who enable more than 500 performances to be staged throughout the region every year. The focus is on drama and children's and youth theater.
From the very beginning, the largest cultural institute in north-western Germany has been supported by the "Zweckverband der Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord", a special-purpose association to which the districts and towns in the region belong. Together with the state of Lower Saxony, the association grants the theater annual subsidies. The theater generates almost 30 percent of its budget itself.
History 1947 to 1952: From Leer to Wilhelmshaven The history of the LBNN began immediately after the end of the Second World War when the predecessors of the Landesbühne, the Ostfriesische Kammerspiele founded in Leer and the Neue Bühne established on the North Sea island of Norderney, began their performances. The financially shaky theaters merged to form the "Ostfriesische Landesbühne GmbH" in Leer from June 1948,Carola Hannusch: Die Geburtsstunde. Ein Blick auf die Anfänge der Landesbühne. In: Gerhard Hess (Ed.): Theater am Meer. 50 Jahre Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord und Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 2002, p. 19–27, here p. 19 which, according to the plans of its directors, was to supply various guest venues with theatrical art from all divisions. It soon became apparent, however, that Leer had decisive disadvantages for the undertaking of a touring stage: on the one hand, the town was not central enough for the trips to the various venues, and on the other hand, the catchment area of the town itself was too small. A move to the nearby city of Wilhelmshaven, which had a rich theatrical tradition since its founding in 1869, was therefore the obvious choice.Karl Veit Riedel: Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven, Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord, Niederdeutsche Bühne Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 1983, p. 79
In the course of post-war reconstruction, a "theater construction association" was founded in Wilhelmshaven in April 1947 to promote the construction of a new theater to replace the municipal stage in the Seemannshaus, which had fallen victim to the air war in 1943. After much discussion, a new stage building was created by converting the centrally located former naval director's office from 1904. The light court of the building at the intersection of Virchowstrasse and Peterstrasse, an area measuring 13 by 31 meters, was roofed over, thus creating space for the stage and the auditorium. The former service rooms gave way to the newly created foyer and offices for the employees on two floors. The seats in the theater - 718 in the parquet and 155 in the tiers - were donated by the people of Wilhelmshaven, who expressed their support for the new cultural institution.Karl Veit Riedel: Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven, Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord, Niederdeutsche Bühne Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 1983, p. 80
However, the new Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven was initially a "house without an ensemble".Karl Veit Riedel: Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven, Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord, Niederdeutsche Bühne Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 1983, p. 82 It was not until 1952 that the Lower Saxony Minister of Culture Richard Voigt reorganized the Ostfriesische Landesbühne into the Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord, with its administrative headquarters in Wilhelmshaven,Heino Küster: Musik und Theater in Niedersachsen. In: Karl Wiechert (Hrsg.): Kulturpolitische Initiativen in Niedersachsen. Richard Voigt gewidmet. Hannover 1965, p. 105–111, here p. 108 f. the municipal theater began to enjoy regular drama performances. At the same time, it was agreed that the municipal theater would also host musical productions by the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Low German plays by the Niederdeutsche Bühne, which had existed since 1932, and concerts by the Städtisches Orchester. In turn, the Landesbühne had to cover a large performance area from the Emsland to the Lüneburg Heath and in its first years gave guest performances in the following towns, communities, and health resorts in addition to its hometown of Wilhelmshaven: Ahmsen, Aurich, Brake, Emden, Esens, Jever, Juist, Leer, Meppen, Norden, Norderney, Oldenburg, Papenburg, Pewsum, Rotenburg/Wümme, Sögel, Soltau, Stade, Varel, Weener, Werlte, Westrhauderfehn, Wittmund and Zeven.Karl Veit Riedel: Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven, Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord, Niederdeutsche Bühne Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 1983, p. 83 Some of these towns later did not have their permanent theater, while others fell under the jurisdiction of the Landesbühne Hannover, which was also founded in 1952. (today: Theater für Niedersachsen, based in Hildesheim), so that the LBNN's performance area initially varied from season to season.
The "Zweckverband der Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord" was founded in 1947 to put the Landesbühne on a solid legal and financial footing, with representatives from the kreisfreie Städte, the cities belonging to the district and the Landkreiss in the performance area. The direct organizational model for the body, which still has its headquarters in Aurich today, was an institution outside of cultural work, namely the "Zweckverband zur Kadaverververwertung in Ostfriesland".Karl Veit Riedel: Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven, Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord, Niederdeutsche Bühne Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 1983, p. 35 Since 1953, the association has acted as the sole shareholder of a GmbH. One of the tasks of its supervisory board is to appoint the artistic director of the Landesbühne. The members of the special-purpose association pay contributions based on their population, which, together with the subsidies from the state of Lower Saxony, form an important economic foundation for the Landesbühne.
1952 to 1958: The first seasons The first artistic directors of the LBNN were still working in Leer: Wilhelm Grothe and Herbert Paris. From 1952, the latter also took on the role of artistic director of the Wilhelmshaven municipal theater. This personal union - director of the Landesbühne and artistic director - was the rule in Wilhelmshaven until the mid-1990s, but there were also exceptions. Between 1958 and 1964, for example, Rudolf Sang, the former head stage manager in Oldenburg, headed the municipal theater, while Rudolf Stromberg was the artistic director of the LBNN during this period.
The first production of the Landesbühne Niedersachsen Nord, a rehearsal of Hamlet, had its premiere on 19 October 1952 in Wilhelmshaven. The title role was played that evening by guest Bernhard Minetti.Carola Hannusch: Die Geburtsstunde. Ein Blick auf die Anfänge der Landesbühne. In: Gerhard Hess (Ed.): Theater am Meer. 50 Jahre Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord und Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 2002, p. 19–27, here p. 23 In the morning of the same day, the Stadttheater was officially opened with a matinee event; the ceremonial address was given by the Berlin theater scholar Hans Knudsen.Nordwestdeutsche Rundschau, 1 October 1952. In the first seasons, performances of classics predominated. In addition to several plays by the young Schiller (The Conspiracy of Fiesco of Genoa, Don Karlos), the program included large productions that challenged a limited Ensemble such as A Winter's Tale by Shakespeare or The Knight of Zalamea by Calderón. But the modern drama of the first post-war years also found its way into the Landesbühne; Sartre's Closed Society was shown, as were Arthur Miller's plays All My Sons and Witch Hunt. The stage proved intrepid with several world premieres and the production of Rolf Honold's play Der Stoß nach Ssogrebitsche, an early examination of the war years. As a local specialty, the drama Nicht im Hause, nicht auf der Straße was performed, whose author Hans-Joachim Haecker worked as a teacher at a Wilhelmshaven grammar school. The production, which contained a procession of lamentation and thematized the protagonist's waking dreams, challenged the actors to adopt a non-mimetic style of acting and was rejected by the audience. style and was rejected by the audience.Karl Veit Riedel: Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven, Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord, Niederdeutsche Bühne Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 1983, p. 90Welt und Wort. Literarische Monatsschrift, 8, 1953, p. 213 Nevertheless, the critics attested to the fact that those responsible were producing contemporary theater: "There is no longer one accusation that can be made against the Wilhelmshavener Landesbühne: Lack of willingness to experiment and failure to reflect the intellectual trends of our time."Norderneyer Badekurier, 18 July 1953.
In the summer of 1955, Herbert Paris moved to Hamburg to the Staatsoper, while Wilhelm Grothe also moved to the Hanseatic city and worked there as an actor. His successor Hermann Ludwig, who had previously directed the Volksbühne in Hanover, opened his directorship with Lessing's Nathan the Wise. He continued the work of Grothe and Paris in many respects. With View from the Bridge, for example, he presented another drama by Arthur Miller and tackled current problems. In Wilhelmshaven, Gerd Oelschlegel's play Die tödliche Lüge premiered, which sheds light on the fate of a married couple from the Soviet Occupation Zone and their attempts to gain a foothold in West German society.Carola Hannusch: Die Geburtsstunde. Ein Blick auf die Anfänge der Landesbühne. In: Gerhard Hess (Ed): Theater am Meer. 50 Jahre Landesbühne Niedersachsen-Nord und Stadttheater Wilhelmshaven. Wilhelmshaven 2002, p. 19–27, here p. 25
1958 to 1973: Rudolf Stromberg Rudolf Stromberg became director of the Landesbühne in 1958. The father of the later director of the Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg, Tom Stromberg, had gained experience as an actor, dramaturge and director in Vienna, Graz, Stuttgart, Mannheim and finally Wilhelmshaven, and had also worked for a time as a theater critic. He was therefore familiar with the theater from all sides. The frequently absent Intendant Ludwig had also entrusted him with management tasks and appointed him as his successor.Nordwestdeutsche Rundschau, 24 January 1958.