ABOUT US
Creating professional, independent theater since 1982.
WHO?
We are Sigrid Dettlof, Wolfgang Benninghoven (Bruns) and Ulli Haussmann and together
we make up "combinale". We are equal parts theater managers, producers, actors,
playwrights, public relations agents, publishers, dramaturgists, artisans, directors
all rolled into one, pardon, three people.
WHERE?
We can be found on Hüxstr. 115 in the middle of Lübeck's old town. The theater
is located in a picturesque courtyard and was originally a church built around
the year 1900. The theater has a seating capacity of 116.
WHAT?
We create what we like to call " Theater Up Close" which means theater both up
close and close to our audience, close to our times, to our lives, to us. The
plays we select, and often write ourselves, tend to be absurd, funny and tragic
all at the same time. They reflect the reality of our world today (Top Dogs, The
Vagina Monologues, The Eight: Reindeer Monologues), they show us a world as seen
through the eyes of someone in search of answers yet finding only questions (Der
Wasserschaden, Cornflakes, Kein Grund zur Ursache, Unter der Gürtellinie, Das
Mietshaus), they retell classic tales in contemporary settings (Ich Romeo, Du
Julia, Der Messias, Cyrano).
WHY?
Contrary to present day theater in Germany, which has the propensity of being
intellectual and pretentious, we believe that our audiences are capable of reading
between the lines and forming their own opinions. In other words, we choose not
to hit our audience members over the head with heavy symbolism and lengthy explanations.
As theater, we feel, is often times best understood subconsciously i.e. through
laughter.
WHEN?
Our season begins in early September and runs through the month of June.
