The Schwankhalle is a performance and production venue for the independent performing arts located in Bremen’s Neustadt that has been under the direction of Anna K. Becker and Katrin Hylla since August 2022.

The Schwankhalle showcases the diversity of performing arts. Current productions from the fields of performance, theater, dance, music theater, and related art forms are staged here as in-house productions, works by local artists, as well as national and international guest performances and co-productions. The program also includes concerts, discursive events and other forms of assembly—from the boat ballet on the Werdersee to the neighborhood choir. The Schwankhalle repeatedly fans out to other places and develops formats for various spaces in the city. A further focus is on the development of performances and plays with and for children and youths. Cross-generational performance formats and family-friendly offers also belong to the program.

The Schwankhalle stands for playing, for conceiving new forms of gathering, for encounters of all kinds, and not least: for fun and surprises!

As an amplifier for the independent scene in Bremen, the Schwankhalle offers local artists and groups residencies, performance possibilities, co-productions, joint networking, and the development of cultural political strategies. It closely cooperates with the Landesverband Freie Darstellende Künste Bremen (LAFDK) ↗. National and international guest performances expand the range of artistic positions. Furthermore, the Schwankhalle provides space for presenting research and work processes and seeks to facilitate the exchange and collaboration between artists.

The Schwankhalle pursues the goal of providing leeway for urgently required new forms of theater and reflecting on and making transparent its own structures, working methods, accesses and barriers. The venue seeks to place itself in a process of learning and opening up—with the aim of creating space for diverse perspectives, acting as an arena for negotiations and forging new alliances.

The Schwankhalle is part of the networks NFT – Netzwerk Freier Theater ↗ and FREISCHWIMMEN ↗ in the program »Verbindungen fördern« as well as a member of the LAFDK Bremen ↗ and klangpol – Netzwerk Neue Musik Nordwest ↗. Together with Theater Bremen, the Schwankhalle organizes the biennial performing arts festival OUTNOW! ↗ for new national and international talents.