Bastian Kraft

Bastian Kraft, born in 1980 and raised in Hessen, studied Applied Theater Studies in Giessen. Following his studies, he worked for three years as an assistant director at the Burgtheater in Vienna, where he staged Oscar Wilde’s "Dorian Gray" in 2010—a production that remains in the repertoire today with over 250 performances. He was invited to the "Radikal jung" festival three times and won the audience award twice: in 2010 for Franz Kafka’s "Amerika" (Thalia Theater Hamburg) and in 2012 for Thomas Mann’s "Felix Krull" (Volkstheater Munich). Since then, he has worked continuously as a theater director, and since 2022, he has also directed opera regularly. He frequently adapts novels for the stage, such as Dostoevsky’s "Schuld und Sühne" in Frankfurt in 2016, Klaus Mann’s "Mephisto" at the Burgtheater Vienna in 2018, and Heinrich Böll’s "Die verlorene Ehre der Katharina Blum" in Cologne in 2024. His first work at the Schauspielhaus Zürich was Hermann Hesse’s "Steppenwolf" in 2012, followed by eight further Zurich productions, including Max Frisch’s "Homo Faber" in 2016 and Thomas Mann’s "Buddenbrooks" in 2017. He returned to the Schauspielhaus Zürich in 2025 with DIE KLEINE MEERJUNGFRAU.