Lecture „Effi B. Rolfs und Matthias Stich: Das Abenteuer Schmiere”

The world's worst theater in the Steinernes Haus in post-war Frankfurt

Founded in the 1950s by Rudolf Rolfs, Die Schmiere originated as a traveling theater company. Rolfs toured the country in a wooden construction trailer before making a stop in 1950 at the Römerberg, which was marked by war ruins, and setting up his theater in front of the Steinernes Haus (today the seat of the Frankfurter Kunstverein) - with the programmatic motto: "Die Schmiere - the worst theater in the world".

Schmiere moved into the vaulted cellar of the badly damaged building, where traces of Schmiere can still be seen today in the form of murals. An independent, highly political theater was performed on simple chairs and an improvised stage, which held up a mirror to post-war society with unheard-of disobedience and satirically addressed topics such as nuclear policy and the peace movement. Rolfs deliberately ran the theater without institutional funding so as not to fall victim to censorship. He established a practice that can be read as an early form of subcultural production in Germany. "If there is a 'subculture' in the Federal Republic, it began in 1950 with the Schmiere", according to the theater's chronicle published in 1985.

The leaflets, pamphlets and books of the Schmiere, which are presented in the exhibition Hidden History - Facets of Subculture in Frankfurt Rhine-Main, seem depressingly topical today. At the same time, they express the social need for intellectually alert, courageous and non-conformist art. The fact that civic-minded, innovative and courageous forms of art have their home in the Steinernes Haus remains a central concern of the Frankfurter Kunstverein to this day.

Today, Die Schmiere is run by Rolf's daughter Effi B. Rolfs and Matthias Stich in the Carmelite monastery. With cabaret, satire and changing formats, it remains a place where social and political issues are dealt with independently.

In the lecture, Effi B. Rolfs and Matthias Stich will provide insights into this continuity: from the beginnings in destroyed Frankfurt to the current practice of a theater that has retained an independent, critical voice to this day.

Admission: €5 incl. visit to the exhibition. Registration is not necessary.