Hans Hoffer

Biography

Hans Hoffer is one of the most distinguished set designers in the German-speaking world. Born in Austria, his family roots are in Bohemia and Prague. After completing his studies at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst and the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Vienna, he devoted to avant-garde theatre, yet also began co-operating with large cultural institutions in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. He has collaborated with Hans Hollmann, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Michael Haneke, Götz Friedrich, Hans Werner Henze, Franz Welser-Möst, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Elfriede Jelinek, Olga Neuwirth, and others. He occasionally works as a stage director (e.g. the world premiere of Elfriede Jelinek’s Wolken. Heim) and architect, and has taught at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, leading the Max Reinhardt Seminar. He has designed the sets for the stage director Martin Čičvák’s productions at Prague’s Vinohrady Theatre (Max Frisch: Andorra, Camus: Caligula, Ibsen: Peer Gynt, Euripides: Iphigenia in Aulis), Pod Palmovkou Theatre (Chekhov: The Cherry Orchard) and Drama Club (Dostoyevsky: The Brothers Karamazov, Peter Shaffer: Equus). He also conceived the scenery for two productions Čičvák created for the National Theatre in Prague (Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, 2009; and Verdi’s Macbeth, 2015).