They wanted to be free—free in their choice of themes, artistic methods, performance venues, and lifestyles: free small theatres, theatre groups, and solo artists. Since the 1960s, artists have been pursuing the joy of alternative theatre, beyond the hierarchical structures and content of established municipal and state theatres, in cellars and small theatres, and from the 1970s onwards, in repurposed factory halls and outdoor venues.
New performative arts involving dance and music emerged. Significant impulses came from the international artists and groups invited to shape the so-called “play street” in the Olympic Park during the 1972 Olympics.
With the first International Theatre Festival in 1977, which attracted largely unknown international theatre artists to Munich on a medium-term basis, the city increasingly developed into a stage for artistic openness and a spirit of experimentation. However, the free artistic scene always posed a question of survival due to the lack of financial security. Nevertheless, the seemingly boundless diversity of artistic expressions that have evolved within the tension between artistic self-assertion and the struggle for existence is truly impressive.
“The Joy of Alternative Theatre”—an exhibition about the polyphony and diversity of the Free Performing Arts in Munich.