Maja Zade
Country: Germany
Biography
Maja Zade was raised in Germany and Sweden. She has been a dramaturg at the Schaubühne Berlin since 1999. She studied English Literature at London University and at Queen’s University in Canada, and theatre production at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. From 1997 to 1999 she was Senior Reader at the Royal Court Theatre in London. She has taught at Malmö Theatre School and Edinburgh University since 2012, and is part of the jury for the James Tait Black Prize for Drama. Beside her work at the Schaubühne she has worked as a dramaturg for Michael Thalheimer productions at Dramaten, Stockholm. Various translations into German include work by Lars von Trier and Caryl Churchill and translations into English (from German and Swedish) by Marius von Mayenburg, Lars Noren and Falk Richter. Her plays »status quo«, »abgrund« (»no words«), »ödipus«, »reden über sex« (»talking about sex«) and »spinne« (»spider«) are in the Schaubühne repertoire and have been translated into languages including Norwegian, Swedish, Latvian, Polish, French and English. »spinne« (»spider«) was also her directorial debut. Since the 2022/23 season, head of dramaturgy at the Schaubühne.
Portfolio & Latest Theatre Performances :
Production dramaturgy:
Rückkehr nach Reims after Didier Eribon, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (Resumption in new version, 2020)
Michael Kohlhaas by Heinrich von Kleist, Director: Simon McBurney (2020)
ödipus by Maja Zade, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (World Premiere, 2021)
reden über sex by Maja Zade, Director: Marius von Mayenburg (World Premiere, 2021)
To Take Arms against a sea of plaques (ОЗБРОЮЮЧИСЬ ПРОТИ МОРЯ ЛИХ), a project by Stas Zhyrkov and Pavlo Arie, Director: Stas Zhyrkov (World Premiere, 2022)
Nachtland by Marius von Mayenburg, Director: Marius von Mayenburg (World Premiere, 2022)
Die Möwe (The Seagull) by Anton Tschechow, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (2023)
changes by Maja Zade, Director: Maja Zade (World Premiere, 2024)
The Wild Duck (Die Wildente) by Henrik Ibsen, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (2025)
Productions playright:
status quo by Maja Zade, Director: Marius von Mayenburg (World Premiere, 2019)
abgrund by Maja Zade, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (World Premiere, 2019)
ödipus by Maja Zade, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (World Premiere, 2021)
reden über sex by Maja Zade, Director: Marius von Mayenburg (World Premiere, 2021)
spinne by Maja Zade, Director: Maja Zade (World Premiere, 2024)
changes by Maja Zade, Director: Thomas Ostermeier (World Premiere, 2024)
Direction:
spinne by Maja Zade, Director: Maja Zade (World Premiere, 2024)
SSSpinne
Concept of the Performance:
In spite of having diametrically opposed political beliefs and being absolutely convinced of being on the right side, is it possible to have a genuine connection and maybe even be friends? What is the relationship between someone’s political attitude and their childhood, the social milieu in which they grew up and in which they now move? What role is played by personal experiences and individual fates? »spinne« (»spider«) is a monologue about the difficulty of really communicating with one another despite political conflicts and different life choices.
Artistic Statement
I feel that we live in a world that is increasingly drifting apart, with the rise of the far right and of the spread of populism happening across the globe. When I was younger it seemed like people – and politicians – who held different opinions still talked to each other, discussed their differences, and listened to each other, whereas now it feels like we only talk to people we know are going to agree with us, we move in bubbles of like-minded people. I was interested in exploring a situation where two people who were once very close meet again, having since developed very different political views . Another aspect I was interested in was putting a woman in her forties at the centre, a play that is not romantic love but about friendship and politics. A different kind of woman, in other words, than you usually see on stage.
Trailer
