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Theater am bach e.V.

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The theater am bach e.V. (also Amateurbühne theater am bach, short tab) is an amateur theatre group in Elz in the Limburg-Weilburg district of Hesse, Germany.[1][2] Founded in 1995, it stages at least one full-length production each year, an open-air production at the Neumühle in Elz every three years, and children's and youth productions through its youth section, the junge bühne.[2][3]

theater am bach e.V.
Founded 1995
Members 213 (as of March 2014)
Legal form Registered association (eingetragener Verein)
Member of Lan­des­ver­band Ama­teur­thea­ter Rheinland-Pfalz
Location
Headquarters Q631198
Country Germany
Links
Website theater-am-bach.de
Social media Facebook · Instagram
View on Wikidata

History

The group was founded in 1995 by a circle of theatre enthusiasts.[2] Its own accounts date the founding to September 1995[4] or to October 1995.[5] From the start it combined indoor productions of comedies, dialect plays and one-act plays with open-air productions at the Neumühle; its first open-air production was Goldoni's Mirandolina in 1996.[6] Around 2010 the group stated that more than 18,000 spectators had seen its productions and that it had almost 200 members.[6]

In 2014 the group gave up its previous clubhouse, which it had used for 14 years, because of rising energy costs, and moved to new premises in the Bahnhofstraße in Elz; at that time it had 213 members.[7] The new rooms were officially opened in 2015.[8]

The 25th anniversary in 2020 was overshadowed by the COVID-19 pandemic: all productions planned for that year were cancelled, including a production of Frau Müller muss weg two weeks before its premiere, and the group released a short one-act play as a video instead.[9][10] The anniversary was celebrated belatedly in March 2022 as "25 + 2 Jahre tab".[11] In October 2025 the group marked its 30th anniversary with staged readings of scenes from past productions; members of amateur stages from Montabaur, Runkel and Niedererbach attended.[4]

Repertoire

The repertoire mixes comedies and farces, crime plays, classics and serious modern drama, among them works by Agatha Christie, Neil Simon, Marc Camoletti and Edward Bond.[2] In its early years it also played Hessian dialect pieces.[12][6] The open-air productions at the Neumühle range from Kleist and Molière to Shakespeare; some were written or adapted by the group itself, such as a stage version of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables in 2019 and Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske, loosely based on Alexandre Dumas, which premiered there in 2025.[13][14] The youth section usually presents a large children's play in the autumn or before Christmas, several of them produced together with the Kulturkreis Elz.[2][8]

Productions (incomplete)[12]
Year Title Author Notes
1996 Mirandolina Carlo Goldoni Open-air, Neumühle[6]
1996 Der ungewaschene Bräutigam
1996/97 Auf hoher See
1996/97 Picknick im Felde
1997 Die computergesteuerte Regenmaschine
1997/98 Wie wär's denn, Mrs. Markham?
1998 Der Schinderhannes Open-air, Neumühle
1999 Noch aanisch, orrer schon gedaalt? Dialect play
2000 Der fröhliche Weinberg Carl Zuckmayer Open-air, Neumühle
2001 En schie Bescherung
2002 Der zerbrochene Krug Heinrich von Kleist Open-air, Neumühle
2002 Jim Knopf und die Wilde 13 after Michael Ende Youth section[6]
2004 D' Schwed äm Land Open-air, Neumühle
2005 Pettersson und Findus after Sven Nordqvist
2006 Die Mausefalle (The Mousetrap) Agatha Christie
2007 Der grüne Kakadu Arthur Schnitzler Open-air, Neumühle; nine performances[15]
2007 Eine teuflische Weihnachtsgeschichte Ulrich Engelmann Youth section, clubhouse[16]
2008 Die Nacht der Nächte Bürgerhaus Elz[16]
2008 Ophelia und die Schublade vom verlorenen Glück Ulrich G. Engelmann Youth section[16]
2009 Pension Schöller Carl Laufs and Wilhelm Jacoby Bürgerhaus Elz[16]
2009 Prinz und Bettelknabe after Mark Twain Youth section; Bürgerhaus Elz, almost 1,000 spectators[16]
2010 Der eingebildete Kranke (The Imaginary Invalid) Molière Open-air, Neumühle; seven performances[16]
2011 Mit offenen Karten (Cards on the Table) Agatha Christie
2011 Aladin und die Wunderlampe adapted by Walter Edelmann Youth section with the Kulturkreis Elz, Bürgerhaus Elz[15]
2012 30 kg Weihnachtsglück Youth section, clubhouse[17]
2012 Hier sind Sie richtig Marc Camoletti Bürgerhaus Elz
2013 Jedermann Hugo von Hofmannsthal Open-air, Neumühle
2013 Scrooge – eine Weihnachtsgeschichte after Charles Dickens Youth section with the Kulturkreis Elz, Bürgerhaus Elz[7]
2014 Die See Edward Bond Bürgerhaus Elz[7]
2015 Pettersson und Findus after Sven Nordqvist Youth section; revival of the 2005 production[8]
2015 Arsen und Spitzenhäubchen (Arsenic and Old Lace) Joseph Kesselring [8]
2016 Viel Lärm um nichts (Much Ado About Nothing) William Shakespeare Open-air, Neumühle[18]
2016 Robin Hood Open-air, Neumühle; youth section[8]
2017 Gerüchte, Gerüchte (Rumors) Neil Simon
2017 Turandot Youth section with the Kulturkreis Elz, Bürgerhaus Elz[8]
2018 Floh im Ohr (A Flea in Her Ear) Georges Feydeau [19]
2019 Les Misérables after Victor Hugo Open-air, Neumühle; stage version by the group's artistic director[13]
2021 Frau Müller muss weg Lutz Hübner Bürgerhaus Elz[20]
2022 Ein Sommernachtstraum (A Midsummer Night's Dream) William Shakespeare Open-air, Neumühle[21]
2023 Boeing Boeing Marc Camoletti [22]
2023 Dr. Dolittle Youth section[22]
2024 Romeo und Julia – oder: So hätte es auch kommen können written by the group's artistic director With the mixed choir Salto Vocale of the Sängervereinigung Germania 1844 Elz; Neumühle[23]
2024 Mord im Orientexpress (Murder on the Orient Express) Agatha Christie, adapted by Ken Ludwig Five performances[24]
2025 Der Mann mit der eisernen Maske loosely after Alexandre Dumas Open-air, Neumühle; world premiere[14]
2026 Lysistrata oder Ohne Frieden kein Sex! after Aristophanes Radfahrhalle Elz[25]
2026 Ronja Räubertochter Astrid Lindgren, stage version by Christian Schönefeld Youth section; performances scheduled for November 2026[26]

Venue

Large indoor productions are staged in the Bürgerhaus Elz.[16][20] Every three years the group plays open-air in the enclosed courtyard of the Neumühle, a historic group of buildings in Elz, whose owners make it available for several weeks each summer as a rehearsal and performance space.[3] The 2026 production was performed in the Radfahrhalle Elz.[25] Smaller productions and the youth section's rehearsals take place in the group's clubhouse.[27][16]

Organisation

The youth section junge bühne is open to children and young people from the age of nine; besides its own productions it takes part in joint productions with adult members, attends performances by other theatres and offers workshops.[27] A small group within the club performs improvisational theatre. Since the 2010s the group has also offered murder-mystery dinners, which it performs at its clubhouse and at restaurants and other hosts.[2][28][8] It regularly holds evenings of one-act plays, which also serve as a first stage experience for new members.[29]

The group cooperates with the Kulturkreis Elz, which made its large children's productions possible.[2] It has run a theatre club at a primary school in Elz[30] and a clown workshop for children who then performed at a care home for the elderly in Elz.[31]

References

  1. ↑ Kulturtreibende Vereine, Gemeinde Elz, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 11 July 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 tab stellt sich vor, theater am bach, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Freilicht – das ganz besondere Theaterereignis!, theater am bach, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 30jähriges Bestehen des theaters am bach, theater am bach, 27 October 2025, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
  5. ↑ Ein Jahr der Experimente und neuen Wege, theater am bach, 2 March 2020, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 11 May 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Über uns, theater am bach, archived 19 January 2010, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 „Jugendarbeit im besten Sinne“, Nassauische Neue Presse, 19 March 2014, reproduced on the group's website, archived 22 January 2018, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Aktuelles (entries 1–20), theater am bach, archived 21 January 2018, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Spendenübergabe bei der NASPA Hadamar, theater am bach, 8 December 2020, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 12 June 2026.
  10. ↑ Wie geht es für das tab 2020 weiter?, theater am bach, 3 June 2020, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 June 2026.
  11. ↑ 25 + 2 Jahre tab, theater am bach, 21 March 2022, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Theaterstücke, theater am bach, archived 25 May 2018, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Freilichttheater „Les Misérables“ – noch drei Monate, theater am bach, 29 March 2019, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 12 June 2026.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 „En garde!“, theater am bach, 11 March 2025, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Archiv, theater am bach, archived 1 May 2012, retrieved 26 October 2026; Aktuelles (entries 41–60), archived 22 January 2018.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Aktuelles (entries 61–80), theater am bach, archived 22 January 2018, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  17. ↑ 30kg Weihnachtsglück, theater am bach, 6 December 2012, archived 22 August 2013, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  18. ↑ Kulturgenuss mit Witz, press review reproduced on the group's website, 23 July 2016, archived 20 January 2018, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  19. ↑ Vorstandswahlen – Vorstand wieder komplett, theater am bach, 11 March 2019, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Frau Müller muss weg!, theater am bach, 24 September 2021, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 12 June 2026.
  21. ↑ Sommernachtstraum auf der Neumühle, theater am bach, 25 June 2022, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 June 2026.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Theater im Doppelpack, theater am bach, 19 September 2023, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 12 June 2026.
  23. ↑ Theater trifft Chor, theater am bach, 31 May 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Der Mord im Orientexpress – ein tödliches Vergnügen!, theater am bach, 23 October 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lysistrata oder Ohne Frieden kein Sex!, theater am bach, 24 April 2026, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  26. ↑ Die junge bühne am bach präsentiert „Ronja Räubertochter“, theater am bach, 13 October 2026, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Willkommen bei der jungen bühne – der Nachwuchsabteilung der Amateurbühne theater am bach!, theater am bach, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  28. ↑ Erlebnisdinner vom tab, theater am bach, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  29. ↑ Wenn Teenie-Stars Speck ansetzen, Nassauische Neue Presse, 21 May 2014, reproduced on the group's website, archived 22 January 2018, retrieved 26 October 2026.
  30. ↑ Waldgeist gegen Müllgespenst, theater am bach, 18 August 2022, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 27 October 2026.
  31. ↑ Lachen verbindet Generationen, theater am bach, 12 September 2024, retrieved 26 October 2026. Archived on 13 July 2026.
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