Roland Schimmelpfennig to Gothenburg Book Fair – the first guest announced in this year’s theme: Drama

On the occasion of World Theatre Day, 27 March, Gothenburg Book Fair proudly presents the first guest in this year’s theme, Drama: the internationally acclaimed German playwright and author Roland Schimmelpfennig. With a poetic and innovative narrative style, he has redefined contemporary European drama. One of the most performed playwrights in Europe, Schimmelpfennig will join the Book Fair in September to speak about the power of drama to reflect our times – and to meet a new audience.

With Drama as this year’s theme, the Book Fair brings the performing arts to the exhibition floor and explores how playwrights use their craft to illuminate the pressing issues of our time. Through encounters between novelists, playwrights, and actors, the programme investigates the relationship between plays and novels while tackling life’s big themes: love, existence, and the future.

Roland Schimmelpfennig is one of the most recognised playwrights in Europe, with his plays translated into more than 40 languages. His works are known for their poetic style, fragmented narratives, and exploration of existential and political questions of today. He has written around thirty plays, including The Golden Dragon (2009), The Crack in the World (2019), and the magnificent antique project Anthropolis I-V (Deutsches Schauspielhaus 2023-25). Schimmelpfennig has received several prestigious awards, including the Else Lasker-Schüler Playwright Award and the Nestroy Prize. In 2024 Roland Schimmelpfennig was announced “Playwright of the Year” by the German theatre critics. At the Book Fair, he will meet an audience that extends far beyond the traditional theatre audience – book lovers, authors, researchers, librarians, and teachers all gather here. Through the theme of Drama and Schimmelpfennig’s participation, more people may discover drama as a literary genre and its unique ability to portray the human experience.

“What a wonderful and bold project – to shine a light on drama in the grand halls of Gothenburg’s fair, and in doing so, place the theatre space between two book spines. Theatre means freedom and celebrates the playful spirit of humanity, even when it fails. But most importantly, theatre – and therefore drama – is a place for dialogue, and dialogue is the most precious achievement of our civilization. Drama and theatre are part of our cultural DNA, and at the same time, theatre is an elusive, fragile art form. It is reinvented every evening before the audience’s eyes, and then, when the curtain falls and the lights go out, it disappears again – and precisely because of this, because each new generation must encounter the art and language of theatre with their own breath, we need places where we can trust to find it – in books, in libraries,” says Roland Schimmelpfennig.

In Schimmelpfennig’s plays, the characters – often unnamed – tell stories about themselves or others. The lines may sound like stage directions or commentary. He draws on the full arsenal of narrative techniques from fiction. Who is the narrator? What is being said, and why? Where does the beautiful, concrete, and emotionally resonant language lead us? It portrays both the inner life of individuals and the society around them. At the Book Fair, Roland Schimmelpfennig will participate in the seminar programme together with his Swedish translator, Ulf Peter Hallberg, taking part in conversations about contemporary drama, its place in literature, and its power to challenge and inspire.

A theme uniting the Nordic and Baltic regions

First announced at last year’s closing press conference, the Drama theme has now evolved into a Nordic-Baltic collaboration. All countries from the Nordic and Baltic regions are represented. The theme is organised by Colombine Theatre Agency (Sweden), Dramatikkens hus (Norway), Eesti Teatri Agentuur (Estonia), Theatre Info Finland (TINFO), and Gothenburg Book Fair, in cooperation with Latvian Theatre Workers Union and the Lithuanian Theatre Information Centre, with additional support from Danske Dramatikere (Denmark) and Performing Arts Iceland.

“It’s fantastic that the Drama theme now unites the Nordic and Baltic countries! This wide-ranging collaboration enhances the opportunity to showcase drama in all its forms and make it accessible to a broader audience. Roland Schimmelpfennig is one of the world’s most widely performed playwrights today, and his presence at the Book Fair reflects the international power of drama. His work has moved and challenged audiences across the globe, and we look forward to hearing his thoughts on the role of theatre and drama in our time,” says Oskar Ekström, Programme Director at the Gothenburg Book Fair.

A strong connection to Sweden

Roland Schimmelpfennig has a long-standing relationship with Sweden. His plays have been staged at several Swedish venues, including Dramaten, Stockholm City Theatre, and theatres in Malmö, Gothenburg, and Örebro. His work has gained a foothold in Swedish translation and has been read by both literary enthusiasts and students of theatre and dramaturgy. He describes Sweden as a country that has played a decisive role in his development as a writer:

“There is no other country outside Germany where my plays are performed as frequently as in Sweden. Some of my most radical, most beautiful, and most important theatrical experiments could not have been realized without the support of my brave collaborators on the other side of the big bridge: The Black Water, Half the Moon, and The Tin Soldier and the Paper Ballerina in Malmö; 100 Songs in Örebro; Odyssey in Gothenburg; Winter Solstice and Tonight Everything Will Be Different in Stockholm – and other plays,” says Roland Schimmelpfennig.

“Roland is our era’s Will”

Swedish author and translator Ulf Peter Hallberg, who has worked for over fifteen years to introduce Schimmelpfennig’s plays to Swedish readers, describes him as follows:

“His drama evokes such strong emotions in me. When I translated The Black Water in 2015, I sat crying uncontrollably on a hotel bed on rue de l’Ancienne-Comédie in Paris. That play moves me as much as Shakespeare. Roland truly is our time’s Will. He lives in the arts, on and with the stage. His aesthetic expresses compassion for humanity. He is remarkably at home in many worlds and destinies. He makes the familiar seem mysterious – and yet reveals it as a revelation. Like a magician, he creates magic. That’s why I’ve spent fifteen years working to help him win the Nobel Prize.”

In turn, Schimmelpfennig has described Ulf Peter Hallberg as his soul sibling and his voice in Sweden – someone who lends him words and occasionally even teaches him a few in Swedish. “Morgondopp” (morning dip), for instance – a word infused with its full meaning, the Best of Sweden.

More guests to be announced this spring

Roland Schimmelpfennig is the first guest revealed within the Drama theme – but more will follow! On 27 May 2025, the full seminar programme and further guests will be presented during the official programme launch.

Gothenburg Book Fair 2025 takes place 25–28 September at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre in Gothenburg.

For more information, please contact:

Maria Rogstad, Head of Communications, Gothenburg Book Fair

Tel: +46 722 119 339, mn@bokmassan.se

About Gothenburg Book Fair

Gothenburg Book Fair is the largest cultural event in the Nordic region and the 41st fair will take place from 25–28 September in 2025, at the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre. Our vision is to stir the soul by offering the most thought-provoking experience of the year. By promoting reading, education, and the role of literature in society, we strive to make the world a better place. The seminar programme will be announced on 27 May. This year’s themes are Drama and Love and Lust. Learn more about Gothenburg Book Fair at www.goteborg-bookfair.com