# Alexander Lang

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**Alexander Lang** (24 September 1941 – 31 May 2024) was a German actor and stage director. He began his career, first as an actor, in [East Berlin](/source/East_Berlin), at the [Maxim Gorki Theater](/source/Maxim_Gorki_Theater), the [Berliner Ensemble](/source/Berliner_Ensemble) from 1967, and the [Deutsches Theater](/source/Deutsches_Theater_(Berlin)) from 1969 where he played leading roles and then moved to stage direction.

Lang was director at the [Thalia Theater](/source/Thalia_Theater_(Hamburg)) in Hamburg from 1988. He worked as a guest at theatres and festivals in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands; he was invited three times to direct at the [Comédie-Française](/source/Com%C3%A9die-Fran%C3%A7aise) in Paris.

Lang was regarded as an influential director, especially known for productions of works from the German classical period by [Goethe](/source/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe), [Schiller](/source/Friedrich_Schiller), [Lessing](/source/Gotthold_Ephraim_Lessing) and [Kleist](/source/Heinrich_von_Kleist) among others, with "a new, authentic approach".[1] His most famous film role was the philosopher Ralph in Konrad Wolf's 1980 *[Solo Sunny](/source/Solo_Sunny)*.

## Life and career

Lang was born in [Erfurt](/source/Erfurt), [Germany](/source/Nazi_Germany), on 24 September 1941;[2][3][4] His father was an architect. He attended the [Humboldt-Schule](/source/Humboldt-Schule,_Erfurt) there.[4] In 1961 he embarked on an apprenticeship as a sign and poster designer in 1961.[3] From 1962 Lang worked as a stage technician at the [Theater Erfurt](/source/Theater_Erfurt).[5] He then studied from 1963 to 1966 the [State Theatre School](/source/Ernst_Busch_Academy_of_Dramatic_Arts) in East Berlin,[2] together with [Jenny Gröllmann](/source/Jenny_Gr%C3%B6llmann) and [Renate Krößner](/source/Renate_Kr%C3%B6%C3%9Fner).[3][5][6]

### Acting

During his final year of study, Lang was the narrator in the play *[Der Schuhu und die fliegende Prinzessin](/source/Der_Schuhu_und_die_fliegende_Prinzessin)* by [Peter Hacks](/source/Peter_Hacks).[6] He went to work for [Wolfram Krempel](/source/Wolfram_Krempel) at the [Maxim Gorki Theater](/source/Maxim_Gorki_Theater) in Berlin in 1966,[4][6] moved soon to the [Berliner Ensemble](/source/Berliner_Ensemble) in 1967, and to the [Deutsches Theater](/source/Deutsches_Theater_(Berlin)) in 1969,[3][5] where he built his reputation as an actor.[4]

His first major role there was Ferdinand in Schiller's *[Kabale und Liebe](/source/Intrigue_and_Love)* in 1972,[6] and his pure unconditional passion divided the critics; some were enthusiastic while others thought that after [Brecht](/source/Bertolt_Brecht), emotions on stage were embarrassingly private.[7] He then played Paul Bauch in [Volker Braun](/source/Volker_Braun)'s *Die Kipper* in 1973, Caliban in Shakespeare's *[The Tempest](/source/The_Tempest)* in 1974.[6] He played the title role in Kleist's *[Der Prinz von Homburg](/source/The_Prince_of_Homburg_(play))* in 1975, which was regarded as an extroardiny portrayal of a Prussion officer who misses happiness for duty, directed by [Andreas Dresen](/source/Andreas_Dresen).[5] Lang appeared in the title role in [Heiner Müller](/source/Heiner_M%C3%BCller)'s *Philoktet* in 1977.[6][4] He appeared in the title role in the monumental production of Goethe's [Faust II](/source/Faust:_The_Second_Part_of_the_Tragedy), staged in 1983 by [Friedo Solter](/source/Friedo_Solter), alongside [Dieter Mann](/source/Dieter_Mann) as Mephisto.[8][9]

Lang's film and television appearances were relatively infrequent, including a prominent role, the philosopher Ralph in Konrad Wolf's 1980 film *[Solo Sunny](/source/Solo_Sunny)*, alongside Krößner,[5] and the title role in [Peter Vogel](/source/Peter_Vogel_(director))'s television adaptation of [Stephan Hermlin](/source/Stephan_Hermlin)'s short story *Der Leutnant Yorck von Wartenburg* in 1981.[4]

### Directing

Lang began directing drama productions at Deutsches Theater in the late 1970s; when the directors of *Philoktet* opposed his ideas for the title role and resigned in 1977, Lang and his colleagues [Christian Grashof](/source/Christian_Grashof) and [Roman Kaminski](/source/Roman_Kaminski) took over and presented the play as a teamwork.[7]

Actors in Lang's ensemble included also [Margit Bendokat](/source/Margit_Bendokat), [Michael Gwisdek](/source/Michael_Gwisdek), [Dieter Montag](/source/Dieter_Montag) and [Katja Paryla](/source/Katja_Paryla).[5] He directed *Horribilicribrifax* by [Andreas Gryphius](/source/Andreas_Gryphius) in 1978 and [Ernst Toller](/source/Ernst_Toller)'s *Der entfesselte Wotan* in 1979.[4][6] He staged Shakespeare's *[Ein Sommernachtstraum](/source/A_Midsummer_Night's_Dream)* in 1980, with Bendokat, Paryla, Kaminski and Mann. In Büchner's *[Dantons Tod](/source/Danton's_Death)* in 1981, he let Grashof play both Danton and Robespierre, showing for the first time on a GDR stage that [the revolution ate its children](/source/The_revolution_eats_its_children).[7] Lang directed [Heinrich Mann](/source/Heinrich_Mann)'s *Traurige Geschichte von Friedrich dem Großen* in 1982, Brecht's *Die Rundköpfe und die Spitzköpfe* in 1983 and [Christoph Hein](/source/Christoph_Hein)'s *Wahre Geschichte des Ah Q*, both in 1983.[6] After Dieter Mann became director of the theatre in 1984,[8] Lang directed Goethe's *[Iphigenie auf Tauris](/source/Iphigenia_in_Tauris_(Goethe))*, with Paryla in the title role, and [Grabbe](/source/Christian_Dietrich_Grabbe)'s *[Herzog Theodor von Gothland](/source/Herzog_Theodor_von_Gothland)*, with Grashof in the title role, that year, [Johannes R. Becher](/source/Johannes_R._Becher)'s *Winterschlacht* with Mann in 1985, and a *Trilogy of Passion* consisting of *[Medea](/source/Medea_(play))* by Euripides, Goethe's *[Stella](/source/Stella_(play))* and Strindberg's *[Totentanz](/source/The_Dance_of_Death_(Strindberg_play))* in 1986.[6][10]

Lang said about his approach:

I am neither able nor willing to make a text the way it has supposedly been played for centuries, because that would be a kind of neutral historicism ... without obligation and doesn't hurt anyone. That would be an anti-realistic theater, because realism consists of telling fables and plays from today, from my world of experience, my knowledge, from the world situation. Otherwise I would turn the theater into a restorative-static institution, but theater is always a dynamic process – contemporary history always influences the history of interpretation... The focal point is the decoding for today.[6]

The city of Berlin awarded its [Goethe Prize](/source/Goethe-Preis_der_Stadt_Berlin) to Lang in 1981. In 1985 he received the [National Prize of East Germany](/source/National_Prize_of_East_Germany), and in 1986 he became a member of the [Academy of Arts](/source/Academy_of_Arts,_Berlin).[2][5]

In 1985 Lang directed for the first time in West Germany, Schiller's *[Don Karlos](/source/Don_Karlos)* at the [Münchner Kammerspiele](/source/M%C3%BCnchner_Kammerspiele).[6] In May 1986 he announced that he was taking a three-year break from Deutsches Theater and worked as a guest director at the Kammerspiele, where he staged a double programme of Racine's *[Phèdre](/source/Ph%C3%A8dre)* and Kleist's *[Penthesilea](/source/Penthesilea_(Kleist))* in 1987.[Münchner Kammerspiele](/source/M%C3%BCnchner_Kammerspiele). His next planned production was a presentation of Wagner's *[Der Ring des Nibelungen](/source/Der_Ring_des_Nibelungen)* at the [Berlin State Opera](/source/Berlin_State_Opera), but this production was indefinitely postponed.[9] In 1988 Lang returned to Munich and staged Bernard-Marie Koltès' *[In der Einsamkeit der Baumwollfelder](/source/In_the_Solitude_of_Cotton_Fields)*.[2][9]

In February 1988, Lang was recruited by [Jürgen Flimm](/source/J%C3%BCrgen_Flimm) to the [Thalia Theater](/source/Thalia_Theater_(Hamburg)) in Hamburg, where he became the resident theatre director in succession to [Jürgen Gosch](/source/J%C3%BCrgen_Gosch).[2][9] His first production there was Goethe's *[Clavigo](/source/Clavigo_(play))* in 1988.[9][11] His next Hamburg productions were *Rückkehr in die Wüste* by Koltès in 1988 and *[Der Hofmeister](/source/The_Tutor)* by Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz in 1989. In addition, in 1989, he worked at the [Nederlands Toneel](/source/NTGent) as a guest producer of Chekhov's *[Three Sisters](/source/Three_Sisters_(play))*.[2]

Eight months before the [fall of the Berlin Wall](/source/Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wall) in November 1989, Lang had been able to cross the border to [West Berlin](/source/West_Berlin) where he took a job as senior director at the [Schillertheater](/source/Schillertheater).[2] He was simultaneously, with [Alfred Kirchner](/source/Alfred_Kirchner), Volkmar Clauß and Vera Sturm, a co-director of the [National Drama Theatre](/source/Staatliche_Schauspielb%C3%BChnen_Berlin) in East Berlin.[2] He staged at the Schillertheater in 1989 [Bernhard Minetti](/source/Bernhard_Minetti)'s *Märchen in Deutschland* based on fairy-tales of the [Brothers Grimm](/source/Brothers_Grimm) as well as Schiller's *[Die Räuber](/source/Die_R%C3%A4uber)*. The following year, when Berlin was [unified again](/source/German_reunification), he presented a new production of Goethe's *[Iphigenie auf Tauris](/source/Iphigenie_auf_Tauris)* and another of Molière's *[Der eingebildete Kranke](/source/Der_eingebildete_Kranke)*.[2] He returned to Deutsches Theater in 1992 to stage [Klaus Pohl](/source/Klaus_Pohl_(German_actor))'s *Karate-Billi kehrt zurück*.[2]

In 1993 the Schillertheater company closed down for financial reasons; shortly before. Lang directed at Deutsches Theater *[Oedipus Rex](/source/Oedipus_Rex)* by [Sophocles](/source/Sophocles).[2] and Goethe's *[Torquato Tasso](/source/Torquato_Tasso_(play))*,[4] both in 1996, and *Voltaire Rousseau* by Jean-François Prévands in 2000..[2]

### As a guest director

Lang worked as a guest director with the [Comédie-Française](/source/Com%C3%A9die-Fran%C3%A7aise) in Paris,[2] staging Kleist's *Der Prinz von Homburg* in 1994, Lessing's *[Nathan der Weise](/source/Nathan_der_Weise)* in 1999, and Goethe's *[Faust I](/source/Faust:_The_First_Part_of_the_Tragedy)* in 1999; he was the only German director to be invited three times.[7] He also directed at the Kammerspiele, [Herbert Achternbusch](/source/Herbert_Achternbusch)'s *Der letzte Gast* in 1996,[12] and at the [Bregenzer Festspiele](/source/Bregenzer_Festspiele).[2] At the [Residenztheater](/source/Residenztheater) he directed the world premiere of [Tankred Dorst](/source/Tankred_Dorst)'s comedy, *[Wegen Reichtum geschlossen](/source/Wegen_Reichtum_geschlossen)* in 1998, at the [Schauspiel Leipzig](/source/Schauspiel_Leipzig) Hebbel's *[Die Nibelungen](/source/Die_Nibelungen_(Hebbel))* in 2000, and at [Nationaltheater Weimar](/source/Deutsches_Nationaltheater_and_Staatskapelle_Weimar) Shakespeare's *[Hamlet](/source/Hamlet)* in 2001.[2] He directed several more productions at the Maxim Gorki Theater when [Volker Hesse](/source/Volker_Hesse) was general manager, Gorki's *[Nachtasyl](/source/The_Lower_Depths)* in 2003, [Ewers](/source/Hanns_Heinz_Ewers)' *Das Wundermärchen von Berlin* in 2005 and Kleist's *[Der zerbrochene Krug](/source/Der_zerbrochene_Krug)* in 2006.[2]

Lang received the [Konrad Wolf Prize](/source/Konrad_Wolf_Prize) from the Academy of Arts in 2020;[10][1] The jury acknowledged his work, beginning as a spectacular young protagonist and then directing classical plays in "a new, authentic approach" with his "close-knit ensemble", inspiring with "comedic wit and enlightening fantasy". They noted his "defining influence from East to West".[1]

### Personal life and death

Lang lived with the actress Katja Paryla; they had a son.[13] Lang was later married to Annette Reber, [dramaturge](/source/Dramaturge) of the Maxim Gorki Theater; she died in 2008 aged 43.[14] He had a severe illness in the 2000s;[5] he had no legs, lived in a wheelchair[15] and withdrew from the public.[5] He lived alone in Berlin-[Pankow](/source/Pankow), with assistance.[15]

Lang died at home on 31 May 2024, aged 82.[5][15][16]

## References

1. ["Schauspieler und Regisseur Alexander Lang gestorben"](https://www.stern.de/gesellschaft/regional/berlin-brandenburg/todesfall--schauspieler-und-regisseur-alexander-lang-gestorben-34759716.html) (in German). *[Stern](/source/Stern_(magazine))*. 31 May 2024. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160128/https://www.stern.de/gesellschaft/regional/berlin-brandenburg/todesfall--schauspieler-und-regisseur-alexander-lang-gestorben-34759716.html) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. ["Alexander Lang"](https://www.adk.de/de/akademie/sektionen/darstellende-kunst/mitglieder.htm?we_objectID=51344) (in German). *[Academy of Arts, Berlin](/source/Academy_of_Arts,_Berlin)*. 2024. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160225/https://www.adk.de/de/akademie/sektionen/darstellende-kunst/mitglieder.htm?we_objectID=51344) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. ["Alexander Lang"](https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Alexander%20Lang/00/18473) (in German). *Munzinger Archiv*. June 2024. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160112/https://www.munzinger.de/register/portrait/biographien/Alexander%20Lang/00/18473) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. Renk, Aure. ["Lang, Alexander * 24.9.1941 Schauspieler, Regisseur"](http://bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/wer-war-wer-in-der-ddr-%2363%3B-1424.html?ID=2003) (in German). Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur: Biographische Datenbanken. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150624115459/http://bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de/wer-war-wer-in-der-ddr-%2363%3B-1424.html?ID=2003) 24 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

1. ["Der Regisseur Alexander Lang ist tot"](https://www.nachtkritik.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23876:regisseur-alexander-lang-ist-tot&catid=126:meldungen-k) (in German). *Nachtkritik*. 31 May 2024. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160230/https://www.nachtkritik.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=23876:regisseur-alexander-lang-ist-tot&catid=126:meldungen-k) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. ["Alexander Lang wird Regisseur"](http://www.berliner-schauspielschule.de/lang.htm). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150510161052/http://www.berliner-schauspielschule.de/lang.htm) 10 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

1. Decker, Kerstin (24 September 2021). ["Alexander Lang zum 80.: Er zeigte einer ganzen Generation, was Theater sein kann"](https://www.tagesspiegel.de/kultur/er-zeigte-einer-ganzen-generation-was-theater-sein-kann-4278934.html) (in German). *[Der Tagesspiegel](/source/Der_Tagesspiegel)*. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

1. ["Vom Fiasko zu Fiesko"](http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13508864.html) (in German). Vol. 11/1984. [Der Spiegel](/source/Der_Spiegel). 12 March 1984. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150622195405/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13508864.html) 22 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

1. ["Ich wollte nicht weg"](http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13524648.html) (in German). Vol. 45/1987. [Der Spiegel](/source/Der_Spiegel). 2 November 1987. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150622195412/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-13524648.html) 22 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

1. ["2020 Konrad Wolf Prize goes to Alexander Lang"](https://www.adk.de/en/press/press-releases.htm?we_objectID=61544). *Akademie der Künste*. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 16 June 2024.

1. ["Goethe-Galopp: Alexander Lang beginnt seine Arbeit in Hamburg mit "Clavigo""](http://www.zeit.de/1988/15/goethe-galopp/komplettansicht). *Die Zeit*. [Die Zeit](/source/Die_Zeit) (online). 8 April 1988. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150622205039/http://www.zeit.de/1988/15/goethe-galopp/komplettansicht) 22 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 June 2015.

1. ["Platon ans Telefon"](http://www.spiegel.de/spiegel/print/d-8871186.html), *[Der Spiegel](/source/Der_Spiegel)*. No. 5, 13 September, 1996, [archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160108/https://www.spiegel.de/kultur/platon-ans-telefon-a-51269982-0002-0001-0000-000008871186?context=issue) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine, retrieved 13 September 2016

1. ["Akademie der Künste trauert um Katja Paryla"](https://www.adk.de/de/news/?we_objectID=32503) (in German). *Akademie der Künste*. 30 January 2013. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160107/https://www.adk.de/de/news/?we_objectID=32503) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. Seidler, Ulrich (30 January 2008). ["Erinnern mit Lust und Wut"](https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/die-dramaturgin-autorin-und-regisseurin-annette-reber-ist-43-jaehrig-gestorben-erinnern-mit-lust-und-wut-li.512483) (in German). *[Berliner Zeitung](/source/Berliner_Zeitung)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240607160106/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/archiv/die-dramaturgin-autorin-und-regisseurin-annette-reber-ist-43-jaehrig-gestorben-erinnern-mit-lust-und-wut-li.512483) 7 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. Seidler, Ulrich (31 May 2024). ["Spielen mit dem Widerspruch: Der große Theatermann Alexander Lang ist tot"](https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/kultur-vergnuegen/theater/alexander-lang-ist-tot-grosser-theatermann-starb-mit-82-jahren-in-berlin-ein-nachruf-li.2220465) (in German). *[Berliner Zeitung](/source/Berliner_Zeitung)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240604181500/https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/kultur-vergnuegen/theater/alexander-lang-ist-tot-grosser-theatermann-starb-mit-82-jahren-in-berlin-ein-nachruf-li.2220465) 4 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 4 June 2024.

1. Eydlin, Alexander (31 May 2024). ["Theater: Schauspieler und Regisseur Alexander Lang ist tot"](https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2024-05/alexander-lang-schauspieler-regisseur-gestorben) (in German). *[Die Zeit](/source/Die_Zeit)*. [ISSN 0044-2070](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0044-2070). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240601042003/https://www.zeit.de/kultur/2024-05/alexander-lang-schauspieler-regisseur-gestorben) 1 June 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 31 May 2024.

## Further reading

- Lang, Alexander: *Abenteuer Theater*. ed. [Martin Linzer](/source/Martin_Linzer). Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin, 1977.
- "Dantons Tod von Georg Büchner. Eine Dokumentation der Aufführung des Deutschen Theaters Berlin 1981". In: *Theaterarbeit in der DDR*, vol. 8, ed. Michael Funke. Verband der Theaterschaffenden der DDR, 1983, ISSN [0138-2322](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0138-2322).
- *Trilogie der Leidenschaft. Medea von Euripides, Stella von Goethe, Totentanz von Strindberg in Inszenierungen des Deutschen Theaters. Regie Alexander Lang*. ed. Martin Linzer. Henschelverlag Kunst und Gesellschaft, Berlin, 1988.
- Linzer, Martin: "Alexander Lang oder: Klassik für heute. Inszenierungen am Deutschen Theater 1976–1986". In: *Durch den Eisernen Vorhang. Theater im geteilten Deutschland 1945 bis 1990*. ed. [Henning Rischbieter](/source/Henning_Rischbieter). [Propyläen Verlag](/source/Propyl%C3%A4en_Verlag), Berlin, 1999.

## External links

- [Alexander Lang](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0485669/) at IMDb
- Iris Laufenberg: [Wir trauern um Alexander Lang](https://www.deutschestheater.de/das-deutsche-theater/abschied-von-alexander-lang) (in German) Deutsches Theater 2024

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