Thomas Brasch | |
|---|---|
 Thomas Brasch in 1993 | |
| Born | 19 February 1945 Westow, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 3 November 2001 |
| Nationality | German |
| Occupation(s) | Author, Poet, Film director |
| Notable work | Engel aus Eisen, Domino, Lovely Rita |
| Awards | 1981 Bavarian Film Awards - Best Director, 1987 Kleist Prize |
Thomas Brasch (19 February 1945 – 3 November 2001) was a German author, poet and film director.
Born in Westow, Yorkshire, England, Thomas Brasch was the son of German Jewish Communist émigré parents.[1] In 1947, the family returned to East Germany.[2] Brasch attended school in Cottbus.[2] From 1956 to 1960, he was at the National People's Army Cadet School and made his Abitur.[2] From 1964, he studied journalism in Leipzig and was forced in 1965 to ex-matriculate.[2] Since 1966 he worked at the theater Volksbühne Berlin,[2] and studied dramaturgy at the film school Babelsberg afterwards. In 1968, he was relegated and sentenced to two years and three months in prison for "anti-state agitation", because of the protest against the invasion of Czechoslovakia.[3][2] In 1971, after being a miller in a Berlin factory, he worked in the Brecht archive and was then freelance writer. In 1976, after protesting against Wolf Biermann's expatriation, he moved to West Germany.[2]
Brasch was in a relationship with the actress Katharina Thalbach.[2][4]
Brasch died in Berlin on 3 November 2001.[5]
In May 2012, Brasch's play Lovely Rita was performed in English for the first time in the Warwick Arts Centre.[6]
In November 1976, Brasch's theatre piece Paper Tiger was performed in English for the first time at the 4th International Bertolt Brecht Conference in Austin, Texas,[7] with music composed by Raymond Benson. Benson subsequently directed an off-off-Broadway production of the musical in New York, New York, in September 1980.[8]
