Theatre in NRW, Leipzig and Dresden · Season 2026–27
Plays, musicals, opera, dance and comedy from the programmes of the houses, checked every day. We are starting with North Rhine-Westphalia, Leipzig and Dresden.
Curtain up
Tonight's shows by start time.
Next 14 days
Pick a day to see what's on.
The next shows on the calendar.
Mon9Nov
Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus · Düsseldorf
Starts 20:00
Tue10Nov
Musical Dome Köln · Köln
Starts 19:30From €83.99
Tue10Nov
Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus · Düsseldorf
Starts 19:30
Wed11Nov
Schauspielhaus Bochum · Bochum
Starts 19:30From €24.50
Wed11Nov
Kammerspiele (Schauspielhaus Bochum) · Bochum
Starts 19:30
Wed11Nov
Schauspiel Leipzig · Leipzig
Starts 20:00From €21.40
Sat14Nov
Oper Leipzig - Opernhaus · Leipzig
Starts 19:00From €39.30
Wed25Nov
Schauspielhaus Dresden · Dresden
Starts 19:30From €20.10
A play, a musical or a night of cabaret: choose your kind of night.
Musicals
Starlight Express has run in its own theatre in Bochum since 1988, the Musical Dome stands next to Cologne's main station, and the Capitol Theater in Düsseldorf stages musicals in a former tram depot.
See musicals1.755
We are starting with the Ruhr area, the Rhineland, Münster, Leipzig and Dresden. Other cities come later.
The big houses and what's on there.
Opera & Semperoper Ballett
The Semperoper on Theaterplatz reopened on 13 February 1985 with Der Freischütz, 40 years after its destruction in 1945. About 1,300 seats; the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Semperoper Ballett and the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor are at home here.
Plays & Bürgerbühne
The Staatsschauspiel Dresden plays in the Schauspielhaus on Ostra-Allee, opened in 1913, and in the Kleines Haus in the Neustadt. The Bürgerbühne puts local people on stage.
Opera & children's opera
The Oper Köln is back on Offenbachplatz after 14 years of renovation. The opera house and the Kinderoper (children's opera) belong to the Bühnen Köln.
Plays
The Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus was founded in 1904 by Louise Dumont and Gustav Lindemann; Gustaf Gründgens shaped it in the 1950s. Bernhard Pfau's building opened in 1970, with the Kleines Haus and the Junges Schauspiel beside it.
Plays
The present house on Königsallee opened in 1953. Beside the Schauspielhaus there are the Kammerspiele (1966) and a studio stage; Peter Zadek shaped the house in the 1970s.
Opera & Aalto Ballett
The Aalto-Theater was built to a design by Alvar Aalto and opened on 25 September 1988 with Die Meistersinger. About 1,125 seats; the Essener Philharmoniker, the Aalto-Musiktheater and the Aalto Ballett Essen are at home here.
The moments of the theatre year.
Doors, interval, cloakroom, subscriptions and student tickets. What to know before your first night.
The tonight page lists every show on our calendar tonight by start time, and the calendar lets you filter by day, city and kind of show. We are starting with North Rhine-Westphalia, Leipzig and Dresden, and check the programmes every day.
Musicals play in houses of their own: Starlight Express at the Starlight Express Theater in Bochum, the Musical Dome next to Cologne's main station and the Capitol Theater in Düsseldorf. Musicals on tour and family musicals at the city theatres come on top. The calendar shows which titles are running.
Ask about concessions: pupils, students and trainees pay a lot less at many houses, often at short notice at the evening box office when seats are left. Weekday shows and seats further back cost less. Buy from the theatre's box office or website; resale sites often charge more than face value.
A Abo (subscription) is a package of several performances in a season with a fixed seat and a discount, often for a fixed weekday or a genre. You don't need one: single tickets are on sale for almost every show. A subscription pays off if you go regularly.
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