The Consol Theater is part of the “kultur.gebiet CONSOL” located on the former consolidation mine site in Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck. Since its opening in 2001, it has developed into a lively theatre house with a great responsibility for cultural education and social coexistence of people of different ages and origins.
Consol Theater’s award-winning productions deal with the realities of the lives of the mostly young audience. Each season, the theatre develops about three new productions for different age groups. The plays are not only performed in the house repertoire, but also go on tour in Germany and abroad.
Making theatre not only for the citizens of Gelsenkirchen but also with them is the central idea of the Volxbühne at the Consol Theater. Key words such as participation and empowerment are implemented in artistic projects at the Consol Theater. Amateurs from all over the region always work together with professional directors, theatre educators and musicians. More than 120 active people between the ages of 6 and 92 regularly take to the stage at the Consol Theater, singing, reading and dancing together and creating their own world in projects and courses that are partly intergenerational.
Main activities
Within the framework of numerous (socio-)educational projects, such as the annual language camp or the 10-month vocational qualification measure !STAGE, young people are given new perspectives for their own lives through the medium of theatre. Since 2001, more than 140 young people have found a direction for their future life between school and work through theatre.
In addition, the Consol Theater has become a second home for many of Gelsenkirchen’s institutions, from the music school to the jazz initiative.
In addition to the main stage with a maximum seating capacity of 180, the Consol Theater has a small stage, a rehearsal room and a cosy basement bar with seating for up to 100 people.
The team
Georg Kentrup, artistic director and stage manager
Christiane Freudig, Administrator
Consol theatre will involve in the project: Gelsenkirchen Agenda 21 Office and
Kultursekretariat NRW. A network of cultural organisations, involved in the transition