Jörg
Pohl Head of theatre & actor

Jörg Pohl was born in the Ruhr area in 1979. He initially lived there for 23 years, undisturbed by the influence of the theatre, in various run-down industrial towns. After very mediocre A-levels and community service, he was successfully unemployed for a year. Due to a misunderstanding ("There's a lot of money for little work in the theatre"), he ends up at drama school in Bochum. The misunderstanding is cleared up at the Bochum theatre: in fact, the money and the work are the other way round. Despite this sobering realisation, he follows Matthias Hartmann's call to the Schauspielhaus Zürich. His roles there include Prince Myshkin from 'The Idiot' and Alex from 'Clockwork Orange'. In 2008, he received the award for best up-and-coming actor at the Max Ophüls Festival. From 2009 he is a member of the Thalia Theatre ensemble. There, alongside many other directors, he met Antú Nunes, with whom he would form a colourful and resilient friendship over the course of many collaborations. "You do what you want, but I see what I want. That's why it works with us," Nunes once explained the trade secret of their partnership. In eleven years in Hamburg, Pohl has not only been involved in many roles (Danton, Hamlet, Richard III, Liliom, etc.), but also in debates about the abolition of authoritarian and outdated management structures in the theatre. He believes that it is possible to make art without fear and oppression. Perhaps even good art.

Jörg Pohl will receive the Gertrud Eysoldt Ring from the City of Bensheim and the German Academy of Performing Arts in March 2023. More