Günther Rühle

Günther Rühle (3 June 1924 – 10 December 2021) was a German theatre critic, book author and theatre manager. He directed the feuilleton (editorial/entertainment) sections of major newspapers and was regarded as an influential theatre critic, beginning in the 1960s. From 1993 to 1999, he was president of the Deutsche Akademie der Darstellenden Künste (German Academy of the Performing Arts) in Frankfurt. He published books about the history of theatre in Germany, and its criticism.

Early life and education Rühle was born in Giessen, Hesse, the son of an auditor. and editor of the complete works by Marieluise Fleißer by Suhrkamp.

Publications Theater in unserer Zeit, 3 volumes, Suhrkamp, Frankfurt 1976/1982/1992 (ed.): Bücher, die das Jahrhundert bewegten. Zeitanalysen, wiedergelesen. Piper, Munich 1978, ; S. Fischer Verlag pocket book 5008, Frankfurt 1980. Theater für die Republik. Im Spiegel der Kritik. vol. 1: 1917–1925, revised, S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt 1988. Theater für die Republik. Im Spiegel der Kritik. vol. 2: 1926–1933, revised, S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt 1988. Theater in Deutschland 1887–1945. Seine Ereignisse – seine Menschen. S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt 2007. Theater in Deutschland 1945–1966. Seine Ereignisse – seine Menschen. S. Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt 2014. Ein alter Mann wird älter. Ein merkwürdiges Tagebuch. ed. by Gerhard Ahrens, Alexander Verlag, Berlin 2021.