Josef Bäcker

Josef Bäcker was born in 1987. Before defining himself as a theater maker, he studied teaching, worked as a nursing assistant, night watchman, and waiter. He then began planning and leading theater projects and workshops for children, young people, and seniors—in daycare centers, schools, theaters, and other community spaces. He worked as a project coordinator for political education at Junges Theater Detmold, where he organized a festival and served as production dramaturg.

He founded the theater collective Bäklaba and, together with Lukas Pergande, created at Staatstheater Braunschweig: Koyaanisqatsi, Jetzt erst recht!, Industrielandschaft mit Einzelhändler, and Who Wants to Live Forever. From 2022 to 2024, he was dramaturg for drama at JUNGES! Staatstheater Braunschweig, where he developed and performed All das Schöne together with David Edward.

In theater, he is fascinated by the living, the momentary, the accessible, and the possibility of bringing stories and perspectives into the world that are otherwise overlooked by the majority. Since the 2024/25 season, he has been part of the artistic leadership at Theaterhaus Jena, working as a dramaturg with a focus on citywide networking, exploring ways to bring vision and reality together across different areas.