Hainer Hill. Photographs

The photographic bequest of set designer Hainer Hill (1913-2001) comprises material from 1950 to1970. Photographs of sets, movement sequences and details of rehearsals as well as private portraits of friends and acquaintances have been passed down. Many of these date from when he worked at the Berliner Ensemble at the invitation of Bertolt Brecht during the 1949/50 season.

Hill, who already knew Caspar Neher from his time as a set design assistant in 1935, was inspired by the collective work method at the Berliner Ensemble and, in addition to his set design work, also became a photographer. The selected photos here mainly show stagings in Berlin, including Mother Courage and Her Children, The Trial of Joan of Arc at Rouen, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, Don Juan and Mr Puntila and his Man Matti.