Benno Besson

Swiss theatre director and actor (1922–2006)
Benno Besson was a Swiss Theatre Director. Benno Besson (born René Benjamin Besson; 4 November 1922 in Yverdon les Bains, Switzerland – 23 February 2006 in Berlin, Germany) was a theatre director. Besson was the son of a teacher couple in french speaking Switzerland, Kanton Vaud. He was the youngest of their six children.

Besson realised his first directing work while touring various plays with the Troupe des Ecoliers in Yverdon, Vaud. From 1942 to 1946, he studied Roman and English language and literature in Zurich. It was there that he first came across the name Bertolt Brecht in an antiquarian bookshop. Here in Zurich he had the opportunity to attend many plays by exiled German actors and the premiere of Brecht's works at the Schauspielhaus Zürich. He translated and adapted the spoken word poem 'The Three Soldiers' into French and toured it under the name 'La bataille de Kohlen' with his troupe in 1945. He took part in the tours organised in the German territories still occupied by France in 1947, under the aegis of the Office Général de Décentralisation du Théâtre and met its director Jean Marie Serreau. This marked the beginning of years of collaboration, especially in the joint French translations of Brecht's works with Geneviève Serreau.

Besson met Bertolt Brecht personally when the latter returned briefly from his Exile in the USA to Zurich in November 1947. Besson then joined Brecht at his demand in September 1949 when Brecht went to develop his theatre in Berlin, the Berliner Ensemble. Besson works there as an actor, assistant director and director until 1958. In 1954 he opened the new house of the Berliner Ensemble on the Schiffbauerdamm with "Don Juan" in cooperation with Brecht. After Brechts‘ death, however, the situation at the Berliner Ensemble changed naturally, the usual collaboration no longer worked without Brecht. Following serious conflicts Besson decided to leave. Besson then worked at the Deutsches Theater where he had great success among others with “Der Frieden” (Aristophanes edited by Peter Hacks). and “Der Drachen” (Evgny Schwartz) which was one of his acquainted stagings, so that they travelled with Deutsches Theater all around Europe and Asia (also in Japan). In this plays, he worked amongst others with the popular actors Fred Düren, Eberhard Esche and Ursula Karusseit. Besson became chief play director (1971) and then Intendant (1974) at Volksbühne East Berlin. There he continued to work with Heiner Müller. and other contemporary authors and stage directors like Christoph Hein, Manfred Karge, Matthias Langhoff, Fritz Marquardt. Among the many works performed at the Volksbühne were the “Spectacles” 1 and 2, theatre in all room at the same time

1978 Besson leaves Volksbühne and Berlin for different reasons such as problems with the play design of the theatre. After his first work at the Avignon Festival, he mainly wanted to continue working in his mother tongue. He so continues to work in Avignon and other European theatres and became 1982 director of the Comédie de Genève in french speaking Switzerland.

Besson first spouse was Iva Formigoni. With the actress Sabine Thalbach he had a daughter, the actress Katharina Thalbach. From his second spouse, Imma Lūning he had two children, therof the stage director Philippe Besson. From his third spouse, Ursula Karusseit he had a son, the actor Pierre Besson. With his partner Coline Serreau he had two children, the singer and actress Madeleine Besson and his youngest son Nathanel Serreau.