This includes the Opera Cologne as well as the Cologne Schauspiel with its own venues, ensembles, and artistic directors. Until 2002, there was a general artistic director for the stages – the last was Günter Krämer. At the beginning of the 2007/08 season, the native of Cologne Karin Beier took over the directorship of the Schauspiel and brought about a programmatic shift in profile: The theater has since been playing in the premier league again on a regional level with a first-class ensemble.
And thus connects to the era of Flimm from 1979 to 1985, which was followed by Günter Krämer's long but not always happy period. Beier's stage was voted Theater of the Year 2010 and 2011 in the critics' survey of the trade magazine "Theater heute," after three productions from the house had previously been invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen. In 2013, Stefan Bachmann followed as the artistic director of the Schauspiel.
