A b o u t
Kolja Schallenberg is an award-winning German-Swedish director, playwright, and producer whose career combines deep academic training with extensive hands-on experience. He has studied and worked across a wide range of artistic disciplines, including opera, theatre, musical, dance, concert, and contemporary circus.
His commitment to exploring and challenging traditional forms of theatre, especially in new work, makes him a prominent figure in contemporary performing arts (Wikipedia). His works have been praised for their creativity and ability to merge genres. He has received attention in German, English, and Swedish media. The press once called him “the Quentin Tarantino of theatre” (onruhr), though Schallenberg himself notes he uses “far less blood than Tarantino.”
He has worked for over twenty years within the professional theatre industry, with companies such as Stage Entertainment, National Thalia Theatre Hamburg, National Theatre Nürnberg, National Theatre Bochum, AIDA Entertainment, The Hippodrome London, and The Other Palace London just to name a few.
Since the early 2000s, Schallenberg has been involved in a wide range of productions across the German-speaking world, London (Off- & West End), Sweden, and even at sea. He has created groundbreaking live shows, including the first officially approved "James Bond and More" show. Several of his productions, such as World of Musicals, A Musical Christmas, and Massachusetts (featuring original members of the Bee Gees live on stage), have toured internationally for years.
His work has been recognized at numerous festivals and awarded multiple prizes, alongside countless nominations. He served as artistic director for spectacular productions aboard AIDA Cruises and led Transparence Theatre – Transgender on Stage between 2016 and 2019. Since 2019, he has been the artistic director of the Skaraborg Musical and Film Academy, where he is developing a new joint-venture concept to establish a professional private city theatre in a rural setting. This project is in collaboration with universities and both public and private institutions, including the Västra Götaland Region.
Koljas formal education includes foundation in opera singing at the Music School in Dortmund, theatre management at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, directing at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, and both circus and opera directing at the Stockholm University of the Arts. He has also participated in masterclasses at Shakespeare’s Globe in London and studied adult education at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern.
His person and his work was mentioned in newspapers, on radio and national TV in UK, Sweden and Germany.
The Westphalian Observer proclaimed his directing "Impressive!", whilst WD Radio attests him having "An incredible sense of space".
SLA said about his new Swedish musical Tre kvinnorl "Success - you want to see it again - and again and again". While Britishtheatre.com said about Dr Faustess - A new Musical “Directed in a very inventive & clever way" and stated the same year about Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots) "This is a new work to watch with great attention". Rabatt credited his show Songbook: Bryan Adams as "A whole new and amazing entertainment concept".
Broadway World wrote about SOT--GjutRock "Better than the 80ies".