Yael Ronen, in-house Gorki director, was born in Jerusalem in 1976. She comes from a theatre family and is internationally considered as one of the most exciting theatre makers of her generation. The greatest tool at her disposal is black humour in the framework of historical conflicts. Ronen’s play Third Generation, featuring German, Israeli and Palestinian actors, was invited to numerous festivals. Another of her productionsHakoah Wien, developed at Schauspielhaus Graz, was awarded the Austrian Nestroy theatre prize in 2013. She staged the world premiere of the adaptation of Olga Grjasnowa’s bestselling novel All Russians Love Birch Trees. COMMON GROUND emerged as a meditation from Ronen and her actors on the aftermath of the war in former Yugoslavia. 2015 the play was invited to the reknowned Theatertreffen Festival at Berlin and won the audience award at Mülheimer Theatertage. Her latest productions at Gorki are EROTIC CRISISand DAS KOHLHAAS-PRINZIP as well as THE SITUATION which was invited to the Theatertreffen 2016. The Piece was elected as piece of the year (Stück des Jahres) 2016.
Ronen's production, THE SITUATION, which she developed together with the six-actor ensemble, was premiered at the Maxim Gorki Theatre on 4 September 2015, and garnered her a second invitation to the Theatertreffen festival. The piece negotiates the political situation in the Middle East and was selected by the critics in the annual survey from the Theater heute journal as the play of the year in 2016. The Gorki opened its 2016/2017 season with her piece DENIAL, a project about personal and political repression. In addition, Ronen was awarded the Austrian Nestroy Prize for Lost and Found in the category Best Play – Author's Prize. In 2017 she received a prize from the German centre of the International Theatre Institute within the framework of World Theatre Day, and directed the world premiere of WINTERREISE رحلة الشتاء with the newly founded Exil Ensemble at the Gorki. In the same year, she has also been awarded with the 14. Europe Prize for Theatrical Realities. During the season 2017/2018 she staged ROMA ARMEE und A WALK ON THE DARK SIDE at Gorki, during the season 2018/2019 she staged YES BUT NO as well as THIRD GENERATION - NEXT GENERATION at Gorki.
Since the 2019/2020 season she has been a member of the newly founded Artistic Advisory Board, which advises Artistic Director Shermin Langhoff on the artistic direction of the Gorki Theatre.
