Schauspielhaus

The Schauspielhaus Zürich occupies a Jugendstil building on the Heimplatz — widely known as the Pfauen — and has been one of the most important German-language spoken-theater stages for over a century. Its defining chapter came after 1933, when, as a stage in neutral Switzerland, it became a refuge for theater artists persecuted by the Nazi regime. Bertolt Brecht, Carl Zuckmayer, and actress Therese Giehse all worked here; in 1941 Brecht's 'Mother Courage and Her Children' received its world premiere on this stage, a landmark of artistic resistance. The main Pfauensaal seats 750; in the basement, the studio stage Kammer accommodates up to 70 for experimental and contemporary work. That legacy of politically engaged, literary theater continues to define the program today.

Pfauen stage in Niederdorf and the Schiffbau halls in District 5 — 700 performances a season, frequent world premieres.