German stage director and impresario Claus Peymann died in Berlin on 16 July at the age of 88, according to multiple media reports citing family members and former colleagues. The Süddeutsche Zeitung and other outlets said he had been suffering from a prolonged illness. Over a career spanning six decades, Peymann was one of the most influential figures in German-language theatre. He ran Vienna’s Burgtheater from 1986 to 1999, where his premiere of Thomas Bernhard’s “Heldenplatz” in 1988 sparked nationwide debate, and later led the Berliner Ensemble from 1999 until 2017. His earlier posts included senior roles in Stuttgart and Bochum. Born in Bremen on 7 June 1937, Peymann remained active as a guest director after stepping down in Berlin, most recently staging Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” in Vienna in 2023. He was made an honorary member of the Burgtheater in 2012. Colleagues praised him as a combative champion of contemporary playwrights whose productions reshaped post-war European theatre.