Werner Düggelin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Werner Düggelin
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Werner Düggelin (second from right) 1964 at a rehearsal of "Das Leben des Horace A. W. Tabor" by Carl Zuckmayer (Zuckmayer in the middle)
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| Born | 7 December 1929 Zurich, Switzerland
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| Died | 6 August 2020 (aged 90) Basel, Switzerland
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| Alma mater | University of Zurich |
| Occupation | Theatre director |
| Parent(s) | Josef Düggelin (father) |
Werner Düggelin (born December 7, 1929 – died August 6, 2020) was a famous Swiss theatre director. He was known for bringing new and exciting plays to the stage.
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Werner Düggelin's Life Story
Growing Up in Switzerland
Werner Düggelin was born in Zurich, Switzerland. He grew up in a small village called Siebnen near Lake Zürich. His family did not belong to any specific religion, which was a bit unusual back then. His father, Josef Düggelin, was a joiner (someone who builds things with wood) and also a local politician.
Werner went to different schools in places like Siebnen, Engelberg, and Trogen. He even had to finish his high school exams, called the "Matura," in French, even though his first language was Swiss German.
Discovering His Passion
After school, Werner briefly studied literature at the University of Zurich from 1947 to 1949. But he didn't finish his degree. He later said he had never been to a theatre until he was about 20 years old. His first visit was to the Zürich Playhouse. He described it as "love at first sight." He immediately knew that theatre was his calling, not as an actor, but as a director. He felt it was "just crazy" how strongly he felt about it.
Starting His Theatre Career
Werner began his theatre journey in 1948, working as a lighting assistant at the Zürich Playhouse. The director there, Leopold Lindtberg, suggested he go to Paris to learn more. In 1949, Werner worked at a theatre in Asnières, near Paris.
From 1950, he worked with the famous French director Roger Blin in Paris. Werner said he was "completely devoured by France" and that Blin was "simply the greatest." He learned a lot about what theatre truly is from Blin.
A Pioneer in Theatre
Between 1952 and 1963, Werner Düggelin worked as a freelance theatre director. This meant he worked for different theatres in Switzerland and other countries.
- Bringing "Waiting for Godot" to Germany: Back in Zürich, he worked with Roger Blin again. They brought the play "Waiting for Godot" to the German-speaking world for the first time. Werner even translated the play from English. However, the audience in Zürich wasn't ready for such a new type of play, and not many people came to see it.
- Directing His Own Plays: In the mid-1950s, Werner started directing his own shows. One of his first successes was "Of Mice and Men" in Zürich. A big moment in his career came in 1957 in Darmstadt, West Germany. He directed an early version of Goethe's famous play "Faust".
- Introducing New Playwrights: Werner was one of the first directors to bring plays by non-German writers, like Eugène Ionesco and Albert Camus, to German-speaking audiences. He directed plays in major cities like Munich, Basel, Vienna, and Stuttgart. In 1963, he directed "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in Hamburg. That same year, he stopped being freelance and became a permanent director at the Zürich Playhouse, working again with his mentor, Leopold Lindtberg.
Leading the Basel Theatre
In 1968, Werner Düggelin moved to Basel and became the director of the City Theatre. Many people say this was a "golden age" for the Basel Theatre. With a great team, he put on many plays that explored important social and political ideas. These shows really connected with a new generation of young people and made theatre in Basel very popular.
A Respected Director
After 1975, Werner went back to working freelance. He often returned to direct plays in Zürich and Basel, but also worked in other places. From 1988 to 1991, he even led the Swiss Cultural Centre in Paris.
Even when he was older, Werner kept directing. People said he still had an amazing understanding of plays and what the writers truly meant. He also worked on some television shows, like "The Black Spider" (1986). He collaborated with famous Swiss artists such as Jean Tinguely.
Awards and Recognition
Werner Düggelin received several important awards for his work in theatre:
- 1971: He became a member of the German Academy for Performing Arts.
- 1987: He received the Hans-Reinhart-Ring, a very important Swiss theatre award.
- 1995: He won the Arts Prize from the Canton of Basel City.
Selected Theatre Productions
Here are some of the plays Werner Düggelin directed:
- 2007: The Importance of Being Earnest – Schauspielhaus Zürich
- 2007: Lieblingsmenschen – Theater Basel
- 2008: Dom Juan – Schauspielhaus Zürich
- 2009: The Just Assassins - Schauspielhaus Zürich
- 2011: The Lesson by Eugène Ionesco - Theater Basel
- 2013: Schönes by Jon Fosse - Schauspielhaus Zürich
- 2014: Le Bourgeois gentilhomme by Molière - Schauspielhaus Zürich
