STRAUSS, BOTHO

(1944- )

Playwright,dramaturg. Strauss is among the most frequently performed contemporary playwrights in the German theater, with more productions of his plays invited to the BerlinerTheatertreffenthan anyone else's over the past 30 years. In addition, more of his plays appear throughout Europe, the United States, Australia, and Canada than of any other living playwright working in German.

Strauss was already well known in German theater circles for his work as a critic and editor atTheater Heutemagazine in the 1960s. AtPeterStein's invitation, he joined the Schaubühne am Halleschen Ufer inBerlinin 1970 as a dramaturg.Strauss adapted several plays for Stein, including Henrik Ibsen'sPeer Gynt(1971), Eugène Labiche'sThe Piggy Bank(1973), and most notably Maxim Gorky'sSummer Folk(1974).Claus Peymannpremiered Strauss's first important original work,Der Hypochonder(The Hypochondriac), at theDeutsches SchauspielhausinHamburgin 1971. Four years later,Niels-Peter Rudolphpremiered hisBekannte Gesichter, gemischte Gefühle(Familiar Faces, Mixed Feelings), a production that subsequently went to the Theatertreffen. Since then, Strauss has had 13 productions of his plays invited, including two ofGross und Klein(Big and Small) that competed against each other in 1979; Stein had premieredBig and Smallthe year before, and it remains Strauss's most frequently performed play. Other successful plays by Strauss includeTrilogie des Wiedersehens(Trilogy of Repeated Meetings, 1977),Kalldewey Farce(1982),DerPark(1984),Die Fremdenführerin(The Tour Guide, 1986),Besucher(Visitors, 1988),Sieben Türen(Seven Doors, 1988),Die Zeit und das Zimmer(Time and the Room, 1989),Schlusschor(Final Chorus, 1991),Angelas Kleider(Angela 's Clothes, 1991), andDas Gleichgewicht(The Balance, 1993).

Much of Strauss's work remains accessible to audiences, though one London critic in 1989 picturesquely described it as having "the feel of Monty Python rejigged by Beckett" (Times of London, 20 July 2004). There is little doubt that Strauss's use of humor makes his plays appealing. Still, most of the plays remain concerned with the hopelessness of human interactions, especially relationships between men and women. As they try to get to know each other, men and women in his plays are overcome with anxiety about intimacy. "Before they know it, time has run out," said one critic (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 10 February 1989). Strauss has been the recipient of numerous prizes and awards, including the Büchner Prize (1989) and the Berlin Theater Prize (1993). He remains the subject of ongoing academic inquiry, with numerous master's theses written about him and at least seven doctoral dissertations in Germany alone.