Barbara Frey

Barbara Frey, born in 1963 in Basel, is a director and artistic director. She studied German studies and philosophy at the University of Zurich and was initially active as a musician before gaining her first theater experience at Theater Basel under the artistic direction of Frank Baumbauer — as an assistant director, musician, and later as a director. She made her directorial debut in 1993 with the production of Sylvia Plath’s «Die Glasglocke». This was followed by numerous productions at major stages in the German-speaking world, including the National Theatre Mannheim, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus Hamburg, the Theater am Neumarkt Zurich, the Bavarian State Opera, the Vienna Burgtheater, the Berlin Schaubühne, the Deutsches Theater Berlin, the Semperoper Dresden, the Stuttgart State Opera, and the Salzburg Festival. Her production of Chekhov’s «Onkel Wanja» at the Bavarian State Theatre was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen in 2004. Likewise, her staging of Anna Gmeyner’s «Automatenbüfett» at the Akademietheater Vienna was invited to the Theatertreffen 2021 and won the Nestroy Prize for best direction that same year.