Die oase Amateurtheater e.V.
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die oase Amateurtheater e.V. (also written Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V.) is an amateur theatre group based in Montabaur in the Westerwald, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.[1] It was founded on 12 January 1965 and has played in its own theatre building in Montabaur since 1969, from 1997 in a new building; its repertoire ranges from comedies and crime plays to modern classics and children's plays.[2][3]
| Founded | 12 January 1965 |
|---|---|
| Legal form | Registered association (eingetragener Verein) |
| Member of | Landesverband Amateurtheater Rheinland-Pfalz |
| Location | |
| Headquarters | Q632991 |
| Country | Germany |
| Links | |
| Website | die-oase.info |
| Social media | Facebook · X |
History
The group grew out of a seminar held by the district youth office of Montabaur in 1964 at the youth hostel in Bad Marienberg, attended by more than 30 young people. On 12 January 1965 participants of the seminar founded the Kreisjugendspielschar, which aimed to stage modern plays throughout the district and rehearsed in the hall of the old district office in Montabaur. Taking its cue from the Düsseldorf amateur theatre group Die Karawane, the troupe chose the name die-oase ("the oasis"): the "caravans" of the Westerwald, where there was then no other amateur theatre group, were to travel to the oasis. Its first production was Armand Payot's Ihr werdet sein wie Gott.[4] The founding meeting took place in an inn in Dernbach; the registered association followed in 1967 and was recognised as a non-profit organisation.[2]
Until 1969 the group rehearsed in changing places, including a trade-union youth centre in Wirges, a kindergarten, living rooms and the youth hostel in Montabaur, and performed in gymnasiums, inns and parish halls of the former Unterwesterwaldkreis. In 1967 it leased a barn behind a sawmill in Montabaur-Allmannshausen, which members converted into a theatre in 1968; the theatre studio was officially opened on 13 September 1969 with a performance of Box & Cox. In the same year the members resolved to offer audiences serious and comic plays in alternation. After initial resistance from the town, the group bought the barn in 1970, taking on debts of 74,000 Deutsche Mark, which it paid off over the following years by playing as much as possible.[4]
In 1975 the group gave its first guest performance in Brackley, England, followed by a special performance there in 1989. A children's group was founded in 1978; it performed in Tonnerre, France, in 1982. Also from 1978 the members held an annual five-day summer tent camp. Open-air productions in the courtyard of Montabaur Castle marked the group's 25th anniversary in 1990 and followed in 1993 and 1996.[4]
In 1994 the Deutsche Bundesbahn informed the group that the theatre barn had to make way for the ICE high-speed line; the last performance in the old building took place in March 1996.[4][2] Construction of a new building began in 1996, supported by the state's culture foundation, by many hours of members' voluntary work and by the sale of "building blocks" and honorary seats; the new theatre opened on 31 May 1997.[2] In 1998 the group hosted a theatre meeting marking the 25th anniversary of the Landesverband Amateurtheater Rheinland-Pfalz e. V., and in 2000 a shortened version of its production Autobus S was shown at the state theatre meeting in Flammersfeld.[4]
For its 40th anniversary in 2005 the group published a chronicle booklet. In 2017 it staged its 100th production, Peter Shaffer's Komödie im Dunkeln.[4] During the COVID-19 pandemic the premiere of Der Vorname, planned for 17 April 2020, was cancelled; a revival of Love Letters was played from 18 September 2020 under restrictions, and a planned revival of norway.today in November 2020 was cancelled.[4] Der Vorname finally premiered on 30 April 2022.[5] In 2021 the group received funding from the Bund Deutscher Amateurtheater (BDAT) programme Land in Sicht! for amateur theatres in rural areas, which it used to convert its stage lighting to LED technology with digital control.[6] On 6 September 2025 it marked its 60th anniversary with a theatre meeting on its premises in Montabaur, with stage contributions, workshops and discussions involving six theatre groups from the region.[7]
Repertoire
Following a resolution of 1969, the group aims to offer its audiences serious and comic plays in alternation.[4] Its productions range from comedies and crime plays to plays by authors such as Harold Pinter, Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Thomas Bernhard and Max Frisch, cabaret programmes, and children's and youth plays performed by its younger members; in 1970 it also gave several Kasperltheater puppet shows.[3]
| Year | Title | Author | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Ihr werdet sein wie Gott | Armand Payot | First production |
| 1966 | Spinnennetz | Agatha Christie | |
| 1967 | Psychiatrie und Perlen | Alec Robertson | |
| 1968 | Endstation Sehnsucht | Tennessee Williams | |
| 1969 | Box & Cox | J. M. Morton | Opening of the theatre studio, 13 September 1969[4] |
| 1969 | Herrn Walsers Raben | W. Hildesheimer | |
| 1969 | Rumpelstilzchen | Gebrüder Grimm | |
| 1970 | Arsen | Mischa Mleinek | |
| 1970 | Der Klopfgeist | Kasperltheater | |
| 1970 | Die Reise zum Mond | Kasperltheater | |
| 1970 | Der falsche Graf | Kasperltheater | |
| 1970 | Das Wettzaubern | Kasperltheater | |
| 1970 | Die Verspätung | Wolfgang Hildesheimer | |
| 1970 | Der Hausmeister | Harold Pinter | |
| 1971 | Kabarett | die-oase | Cabaret |
| 1971 | Mirandolina | Carlo Goldoni | |
| 1972 | Zirkus | Werner Gaefke | |
| 1972 | Königreich auf Erden | Tennessee Williams | |
| 1973 | Bitterer Honig | Shelagh Delany | |
| 1974 | Gute Nacht Papa | Robert Thomas | |
| 1975 | Der fünfte Traum | Günther Eich | |
| 1975 | Die Unterrichtsstunde | Eugene Ionesco | |
| 1975 | Schmetterlinge sind frei | L. Gershe | |
| 1976 | Die Glasmenagerie | Tennessee Williams | |
| 1977 | Der Fall für Mc Goon | Dave Berger | |
| 1977 | Der stumme Diener | Harold Pinter | |
| 1977 | Das letzte Band | Samuel Beckett | |
| 1978 | Der Trauschein | Ephraim Kishon | First production performed more than 20 times[4] |
| 1979 | Mangels Niveau | die-oase | Cabaret |
| 1980 | Nächtliches Gespräch | Friedrich Dürrenmatt | |
| 1980 | Viele heißen Stahlmann | I. Korschunow | |
| 1981 | Blut ist Leben | Bram Stoker | Over 1,500 spectators[4] |
| 1981 | Zirkus | die-oase | Children's group |
| 1982 | Das Konzert / Die Liebenden | Jean Tardieu | |
| 1982 | Alfon's Baum | die-oase | Children's group; also performed in Tonnerre, France[4] |
| 1983 | Reine Nervensache | die-oase | |
| 1983 | Bericht für eine Akademie | Franz Kafka | |
| 1983 | Die Mugnog-Kinder | Grips Theater | Children's group |
| 1984 | Portrait eines Planeten | Friedrich Dürrenmatt | |
| 1985 | Fuchsjagd | Agatha Christie | 1,600 spectators[4] |
| 1985/86 | Die kahle Sängerin | Eugene Ionesco | |
| 1985/86 | Der Schalter | Jean Tardieu | |
| 1987 | Jeder liebt Opal | John Patrick | |
| 1987 | Seeluft | Rene de Obaldia | |
| 1987 | Unter der Erde | Wolfgang Hildesheimer | |
| 1988 | Krabat | Otfried Preußler | |
| 1989 | Ärger mit Daphne | Noel Coward | 38 performances with 2,500 spectators; special performance in Brackley[4] |
| 1990 | Dunkelrote Rosen | Paul Nicolai | |
| 1990 | Mirandolina | Carlo Goldoni | Open-air production in the castle courtyard for the 25th anniversary[4] |
| 1991 | Alles im Garten | Edward Albee | |
| 1992 | Der Ignorant und der Wahnsinnige | Thomas Bernhard | |
| 1992 | Das Märchen / Hund im Hirn | Curt Götz | |
| 1993 | Reine Nervensache | Magerkvist | Open-air production in the castle courtyard[4] |
| 1994 | Bernada Albas Haus | Garcia Lorca | |
| 1994 | Zottel | Manja Säger | |
| 1995 | Zimmerschlacht | Martin Walser | |
| 1995/96 | Die Physiker | Friedrich Dürrenmatt | Last season in the old theatre barn[4] |
| 1996 | Der tollste Tag | Peter Turrini | Open-air production in the castle courtyard[4] |
| 1997 | Stepping out | Richard Harris | 2,500 spectators[4] |
| 1998 | Blick zurück im Zorn | John Osborne | |
| 1998 | Urmel aus dem Eis | Max Kruse | First children's musical staged by the group[4] |
| 1999 | Acht Frauen | Robert Thomas | 28 performances[4] |
| 1999 | Schmürz | Boris Vian | |
| 2000 | Erich Kästner | die-oase | Evening with works by Erich Kästner |
| 2000 | Autobus S (Stilübungen) | R. Queneau | Shortened version shown at the state theatre meeting in Flammersfeld[4] |
| 2000 | Der Tag an dem der Papst gekidnappt wurde | J. Bethencourt | |
| 2001 | Pettersson und Findus | Sven Nordqvist | |
| 2001 | Die Zofen | Jean Genet | |
| 2002 | Die Liebenden in der Untergrundbahn | Jean Tardieu | Young members, rehearsed in the basement; free admission[4] |
| 2002 | Sonny Boys | Neil Simon | |
| 2003 | Eisenwichser | Heinrich Henkel | |
| 2003 | Das Dschungelbuch | Rudyard Kipling | |
| 2003 | Blut ist Leben | Bram Stoker | |
| 2004 | Kunst | Yasmina Reza | Also given as guest performances in Vallendar[4] |
| 2004 | Othello darf nicht platzen | Ken Ludwig | |
| 2005 | Das Ständchen | Petra Steuber | |
| 2005 | Der Weltuntergang | Jura Soyfer | |
| 2006 | Momo | Michael Ende | |
| 2006 | Der Geisterzug | Arnold Ridley | |
| 2007 | Die dumme Augustine | Otfried Preußler | |
| 2007 | Ich bin nicht Rappaport | Herb Gardner | |
| 2008 | Schweig, Bub! | Fitzgerald Kusz | |
| 2008 | Die Schöne und das Biest | Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont | |
| 2009 | Vor dem Ruhestand | Thomas Bernhard | |
| 2009 | Ein ungleiches Paar | Neil Simon | All performances of the season sold out[4] |
| 2010 | Das Rendezvous von Senlis | Jean Anouilh | Directed by a professional director[4] |
| 2010 | Job-Suey | Edward Taylor | |
| 2011 | Gestern letzte Vorstellung | Werner Gaefke | |
| 2011 | Des Kaisers neue Kleider | Hans Christian Andersen | |
| 2012 | Beute | Joe Orton | Directed by a professional director[4] |
| 2012 | Plaza Suite | Neil Simon | 17 performances, all sold out[4] |
| 2013 | Veronicas Zimmer | Ira Levin | 15 performances[4] |
| 2013 | Träumen Androiden von elektrischen Schafen? | adapted after Philip K. Dick | |
| 2014 | Aladin und die Wunderlampe | Frank Pinkus | |
| 2014 | Honigmond | Gabriel Barylli | |
| 2015 | Die fremde Stadt | John B. Priestley | |
| 2015 | Der kleine Prinz | Antoine de Saint-Exupèry | Sold out before the premiere; six additional performances[4] |
| 2016 | Frau Müller muss weg | Lutz Hübner | Sold out before the premiere[4] |
| 2016 | Andorra | Max Frisch | |
| 2017 | Komödie im Dunkeln | Peter Shaffer | 100th production[4] |
| 2017 | Love Letters | A. R. Gurney | |
| 2017 | Hotel zu den zwei Welten | Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt | |
| 2018 | Das Gauklermärchen | Michael Ende | Young members[4] |
| 2018 | Schau nicht unters Rosenbeet | Norman Robbins | |
| 2019 | norway.today | Igor Bauersima | |
| 2019 | Picknick im Felde | Fernando Arrabal | Young members[4] |
| 2019 | Gaslicht | Patrick Hamilton | Run extended into 2020[4] |
| 2020 | Love Letters | A. R. Gurney | Revival of the 2017 production |
| 2021 | Gut gegen Nordwind | Daniel Glattauer | |
| 2022 | Der Vorname | Matthieu Delaporte, Alexandre de la Patellière | Planned for 2020; premiere 30 April 2022, further performances in September 2022[5] |
| 2023 | Schreiadler | Chamber play, from 18 August 2023[8] | |
| 2023 | Hilfe, die Herdmanns kommen! | Barbara Robinson | From 2 December 2023[9] |
| 2026 | Toc Toc | Laurent Baffie | Premiere scheduled for 11 December 2026[10] |
Venue
From 1969 the group played in a converted barn in Montabaur-Allmannshausen, which it extended in 1969 with a bar room and in 1981 with an annex for the cloakroom and workshop.[4] Since 31 May 1997 it has played in its own theatre building in Montabaur, less than 500 metres from the old site and close to the motorway and the ICE station. The building has a foyer with cloakroom, an auditorium, a stage, a storage cellar, technical rooms, a costume store, an office and a kitchen.[2] It is accessible without barriers and has two wheelchair spaces.[11]
Organisation
A group of members performs a living-statue walking act, Montabaurer Schuster, in which performers made up and costumed in anthracite represent the metal figures of shoemakers from Montabaur's history. The figures had been removed from their fountain when the town's central square was redesigned, and the group brought them back together for its reopening; in 2011 the team presented the performance at the Bundesgartenschau in Koblenz; later appearances include the Rhineland-Palatinate Day in Neuwied in 2014 and the celebrations for the 125th anniversary of the BDAT in Berlin in 2017.[12]
The group has hosted guest performances by other theatre groups and drama schools, and has run workshops for its members, including speech training and a photo workshop of the regional association in 2005.[4] In 2017 it held an acting workshop for young people, and in August 2018 a five-day youth theatre camp in cooperation with the regional amateur theatre association, in which participants developed and performed their own play.[5] The 2025 anniversary theatre meeting brought together the Barthels Bühne (Flammersfeld), the Petermännchen Theater (Westerburg), the Provinztheater – was ihr wollt (Steinebach/Wied), the Theater am Bach (Elz), the Theaterfreunde Jedermann (Dernbach) and the Theaterfreunde Niedererbach.[7]
Awards
In January 2025 the group reported that it had received an Anerkennungspreis (recognition award) alongside the main prize of the Kulturpreis Westerwald 2024, awarded every two years by the Lions and Rotary service clubs of the Westerwald.[13]
References
- ↑ Impressum, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Amateurtheater „die oase“ Montabaur, KuLaDig, 2014, retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Archiv, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 Über den Verein: Ein aufregendes Leben, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 oase:blog, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ BDAT-Initiative „Land in Sicht!“: oase erhält Förderung, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., August 2021, retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 60 Jahre „die oase“ – Theater verbindet, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., 6 September 2025, retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Willkommen auf www.die-oase.info (archived 26 September 2023), Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Programm: Hilfe, die Herdmanns kommen! (archived 9 December 2023), Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Programm: Toc Toc, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Anfahrt, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Walking Act: „Montabaurer Schuster“, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
- ↑ Ausgezeichnet! Kulturpreis Westerwald 2024 an die oase verliehen, Amateurtheater „die-oase“ e. V., 22 January 2025, retrieved 27 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.