In the beginning, there was a theater troupe. In 1985, they created their own venue in a former pump station on Münster's Gartenstraße, which was opened with the production "Heart of Freedom." Initially, it was mainly a performance space for their own ensemble in a former wastewater pump station, the Theaterinitiative Münster, or TIM for short. Since 1999, the "Theater im Pumpenhaus" has been without an ensemble, the self-managed stage became a GmbH, with the city of Münster as a shareholder.
Today, the Theater im Pumpenhaus is a production site for professional, locally and regionally active stage artists as well as a guest venue for the international avant-garde. Legendary names from the acting and dance theater scene – the Danish "Odin Teatret," the Japanese ensembles "Dump Type" and "Molecular," VA Wölfl's "NEUER TANZ," the Flemish groups "Stan," "Dito-Dito," and "Oud Huis Stekelbees," Jan Decorte, Thorsten Lensing, Raimund Hoghe – have made and continue to make stops at the Pumpenhaus.
In 1993, Sasha Waltz and her company visited for the first time - at that time still largely unknown, young choreographer. After the sudden death of Ludger Schnieder, Till Wyler von Ballmoos, a musician and theater maker, and Randi Günnemann, an experienced production manager, now lead the Pumpenhaus into the future.
