11 October 2009–10 January 2010
The National Museum – Architecture, Norway
The exhibition showed work by one of Europe’s leading stage designers within the contemporary theatre world. Since the opening of the legendary alternative performance space “Baracke” at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in 1997, the work of architect and stage designer Jan Pappelbaum (b. 1966) has embossed the German progressive theater scene. Pappelbaum’s interest in theater was emphasized through the meeting with director Thomas Ostermeier, a friendship that has evolved to become one of the most interesting and productive artist collaborations within German and European contemporary theater, with productions like “Nora” and “Hedda Gabler”.
Pappelbaum’s work is characterized by his background as an architect in the form of strong and surprising references to modernism and postmodernism. He creates complex, transparent, untraditional stages; open spaces where the transition between the theater hall and stage is revoked.
The exhibition Jan Pappelbaum. Stages, was an extensive presentation of Pappelbaum’s work from 2000 until 2010, during which he has been principal stage designer at the Schaubühne, Berlin. Photos and film material from eighty theatre productions, models of various sets and large film projections from the Schaubühne, together with footage from Pappelbaum’s own film archive, all contributed to this insight into his output, working methods and sources of inspiration. The exhibition focused in particular on nine stage designs and productions, grouped around Hedda Gabler at the centre of the room:
Saint Joan of the Stockyards / Bertolt Brecht, The Master Builder / Henrik Ibsen, Hedda Gabler / Henrik Ibsen, Hamlet / William Shakespeare, A Doll’s House / Henrik Ibsen, Woyzeck / Georg Büchner, Under Ice / Falk Richter, Man Equals Man/ Bertolt Brecht, The Human Circle 3:1 / Lars Norén
The exhibition was produced by Theater der Zeit, Berlin and Goethe-Institut Norwegen. It was presented in collaboration with The National Museum and The National Theatre in Oslo, and Berliner Schaubühne. The exhibition was part of the Contemporary Theater Festival in Oslo, 2009.
Project Manager, Theater der Zeit, Berlin: Harald Müller
Curator: Ute Müller-Tischler
Exhibition Design: Karl Karau
Project Manager, In-House-Curator, The National Museum: Anne Marit Lunde
Curator Education, The National Museum: Anne Marit Lunde & Eli Solsrud
Graphic Design: Sibyll Wahrig
A Doll’s House 
Hedda Gabler 
On the occasion of the exhibition, Theater der Zeit published the book Dem Einzelnen ein Ganzes / A Whole for the Parts: Jan Pappelbaum – Bühnen / Stages.
Reviews:
https://universitas.no/sak/54057/arkitekturstudenter-tolker-ibsen/