Theater Pfütze Nürnberg

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Theater Pfütze Nürnberg

Theater Pfütze e. V. Nürnberg
Founded	1986
Legal form	Registered association (eingetragener Verein)
Member of	Ver­band Baye­ri­scher Ama­teur­thea­ter
Location
Headquarters	Nuremberg
Country	Germany
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Links
Website	theater-pfuetze.de
Social media	Facebook · Instagram · YouTube
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Theater Pfütze (Theater Pfütze e. V.) is an independent theatre for children, young people and families in Nuremberg, Middle Franconia, Germany. Founded in 1986 by students, it toured as a mobile company until it opened its own venue in 1997, and since 2007 it has played in a purpose-built theatre in the Sebalder Höfe in Nuremberg's old town. Its productions are mostly stage adaptations of well-known children's novels, each with specially composed music.

History

Theater Pfütze was founded in 1986 by four students with the aim of making "surprising theatre for children and adults"; the name (German for "puddle") was chosen because children love puddles and because the whole world is reflected in one. According to the City of Nuremberg, the founders included students of theatre studies at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and the student project developed into an established part of the city's independent theatre scene. The first premiere took place in 1986 in the Altstadthoftheater; for the following years the group played in a theatre tent and at changing venues.

The company's artistic breakthrough came in 1992 with Flammenpflücker and an invitation to the Berlin children's and youth theatre meeting. It then specialised in dramatisations of well-known children's books. In 1997 it opened its first own venue in the Nuremberg district of Gostenhof, and in November 2007 it moved into a new building in the Sebalder Höfe, initiated by a local entrepreneur and funded by foundations, sponsors and private donors. Since 2012 the programme has had two branches: the Pfütze-Schauspiel (drama) and the music theatre jungeMET, a co-production with the Stadttheater Fürth. The theatre celebrated its 40th anniversary in the 2025/26 season, with a jubilee production of Pettersson, Findus und der Hahn and a book published by Theater der Zeit.

Repertoire

The main focus is on the dramatisation of important children's novels, often developed together with their authors, alongside the company's own pieces. Music is composed for each production, and the sets and costumes are designed individually; performances are often accompanied by talks and theatre-education activities for school classes. Each production carries a minimum age. Early successes included adaptations of The Little Prince, Michael Ende's Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch and Paul Maar's Lippels Traum.

Documented productions include Flammenpflücker (1992), Bremer Stadtmusik – live! (prize in 2010), Das Kind der Seehundfrau (prize in 2011), Ronja Räubertochter after Astrid Lindgren (prize in 2013), Die Busfahrerin (prize in 2014), Das Buch von allen Dingen (prize in 2015) and Ich bin Vincent und ich habe keine Angst (prize in 2023). The 2026/27 season includes Buddeln (a co-production with schauspiel erlangen), Pettersson, Findus und der Hahn, Ich bin nicht wütend!, Das große Giggler Geheimnis, Wie der Wahnsinn mir die Welt erklärte, Theben sehen und sterben, Die Busfahrerin and Ich bin Vincent und ich habe keine Angst, as well as touring productions for schools and kindergartens such as 35 Kilo Hoffnung, Die Kartoffelsuppe, Die Fürchtestraße and Frida Farbenfroh.

Venue

The theatre building at Äußerer Laufer Platz 22 in the Sebalder Höfe was designed by the architect Volker Staab and opened in November 2007. The auditorium has 180 seats and a stage area of 12 × 9 metres; the foyer has a small second stage. A rehearsal room is located on Rennweg.

Organisation

In 2026 the ensemble of Theater Pfütze had 20 members, including actors, musicians, directors, designers and theatre educators, supplemented by guest artists. Together with Theater Mummpitz it has for more than 20 years co-operated with the Staatstheater Nürnberg to provide children's and youth theatre for the city, producing a new piece with the Staatstheater at least every two years; other partners include the Hochschule für Musik Nürnberg. The theatre organised the third Südwind festival, the Bavarian theatre meeting for young audiences, in Nuremberg in June 2025.

Awards

Theater Pfütze has received more than 45 awards in 40 years. They include:

• 1993: Nürnberg-Stipendium.
• 1996: Special prize of the Deutscher Kulturpreis for culture by and with children.
• 1997: Förderpreis of the Wolfram-von-Eschenbach-Kulturpreis.
• 2000, 2002 and 2006: Children's theatre prize of the Bayerische Theatertage.
• 2001: Bayerischer Theaterpreis.
• 2007: Friedrich-Baur-Preis for performing arts.
• 2008: Youth theatre prize of the Bayerische Theatertage.
• 2010: Children's and youth theatre prize and youth jury prize of the 28th Bayerische Theatertage for Bremer Stadtmusik – live!.
• 2011: Children's and youth theatre prize of the 29th Bayerische Theatertage for Das Kind der Seehundfrau, which was also nominated for the German theatre prize Der Faust in the category of direction for children's and youth theatre.
• 2012: Kulturpreis Bayern of E.ON Bayern AG, theatre category.
• 2013: Children's theatre prize of the 30th Bayerische Theatertage for Ronja Räubertochter.
• 2014: Audience prize of the 31st Bayerische Theatertage for Die Busfahrerin.
• 2015: Second prize of the youth jury and prize of the Arbeitskreis Kinder- und Jugendtheater Bayern at the 32nd Bayerische Theatertage for Das Buch von allen Dingen.
• 2017: Kulturpreis of the Bayerische Landesstiftung.
• 2023: Prizes for best set design and best technology/special effects from the children's and youth jury of the Südwind festival for Ich bin Vincent und ich habe keine Angst.
• 2025: Bayerischer Kunstpreis of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts in the category Programm.