The German Shakespeare Society mourns the death of Norbert Kentrup (May 02, 1949 – December 08, 2023).

The actor, director, author and theater founder (bremer shakespeare company and Shakespeare und Partner) was a member of the board from 2002-2006. With his own contributions, including on Shakespeare translations (with Maik Hamburger) or in Shakespeare workshops for teachers (with Vanessa Schormann), he has repeatedly contributed with great commitment and passion to ensuring that theater and Shakespeare are also closely linked at DSG conferences.

In over 50 years, he has given us all unforgettable Shakespeare theater evenings, whether as Falstaff, Henry VIII, Timon, Othello, Prospero or Lear. With passionate curiosity, he explored Shakespeare’s verse, his theater construction and its laws as well as the dialogue with the audience. In 1993, his production of The Merry Wives of Windsor was the first complete Shakespeare performance of the play after 351 years in the shell of the Globe Theater in London. In 1994 he was appointed to the Globe’s Artistic Board and in 1998 he was the first and so far only German actor to appear on the Globe stage as Shylock in 64 performances. He has traveled throughout Germany and Europe with his productions for Shakespeare and Partner. He and his productions were also regularly seen at the Shakespeare Festival in Neuss. It is thanks to his initiative that the Globe was established in Neuss in 1991. He made one of his last appearances here in 2021, reading from his autobiography The Sweet Taste of Freedom (2018) and telling us: “Life with Shakespeare is a gift”.

The German Shakespeare Society will always honour his memory.