Mein Freund Bunbury
By Gerd Natschinski
One of East Germany's most-played musicals, built on Wilde's comedy of two men who invent people who don't exist.
In 87 days
28 November 2026 · 19:30 Uhr
About Mein Freund Bunbury
Gerd Natschinski's 1964 musical took Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest and made it swing, and it went on to become one of the most performed musicals the GDR produced. The plot still runs on Wilde's engine: two men maintain fictional acquaintances to escape their obligations, and are undone when the fictions are required to appear. Light on its feet in a way East German stages were not often allowed to be.
Performances
- 28 November 2026, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausPremiereTickets →
- 4 December 2026, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 12 December 2026, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 28 December 2026, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 7 January 2027, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 23 January 2027, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 5 February 2027, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 6 March 2027, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 1 April 2027, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- 21 May 2027, 19:30 UhrGroßes HausTickets →
- First performed
- 2. Oktober 1964, Berlin
- Tickets
- 23,70 - 56,90 €
- Stage
- Großes Haus
Also on stage here
Where
Theaterplatz 2, 99423 Weimar
Organiser
Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar
Tickets
23,70 - 56,90 €
Facts checked against the organiser on 29 August 2026
Places and people
Historic sites
Theaterplatz 2, 99423 Weimar
Back on this stage for the first time since the 1972/73 season, by the house's own reckoning.
Historical periods
One of the most performed musicals the GDR produced, premiered in 1964 — and this house last had it on in the 1972/73 season.
For forty-five years Weimar was a provincial town that the state could not afford to neglect, because the classics it kept were the pedigree East Germany wanted for itself.