Oda Thormeyer awarded with Rita Tanck-Glaser Prize

This year's Rita Tanck-Glaser Prize by Hamburgische Kulturstiftung goes to Oda Thormeyer. Since 1996, the foundation has honoured actors who have distinguished themselves through outstanding performances on Hamburg's stages. Founder of the prize, which is endowed with 10,000 euros, was Rita Tanck-Glaser, a Hamburg theatre lover who died in 1999 and who expressed her love of theatre and acting with this legacy. Founder of the prize, which is endowed with 10,000 euros, was Rita Tanck-Glaser, a Hamburg theatre lover who died in 1999 and who expressed her love of theatre and acting with this legacy. The award ceremony will take place on 2 December 2025 at 7 p.m. in the Nachtasyl venue at Thalia Theater. NDR Kultur is the cultural partner.

Since the 09/10 season, Oda Thormeyer has been a member of the ensemble at Thalia Theater, where she has appeared in around 50 productions. The jury honours her as »a true ensemble player. Versatile, unpretentious and flexible, she brings characters to life from within – and lets others shine too. Sometimes with subtle stage poetry, sometimes with magnificent comedy. Always with a sensitive feel for nuances and breaks in material, texts and people. She embodies the idea of the stage as a resonance chamber for urban society – because she is just as enthusiastic about small projects as she is about large ones. A committed artist who, fortunately, will remain with the Thalia Ensemble and the Hamburg audience.« In Sonja Anders' first season as artistic director at Thalia Theater, Oda Thormeyer will appear in the premieres of Porneia by Golda Barton, based on Aristophanes' comedy Lysistrata (directed by Isabelle Redfern), and Was ihr wollt (Twelfth Night) by William Shakespeare, directed by Anne Lenk.

The jury consisted of Franziska Autzen (freelance director), Stefan Forth (theatre critic, NDR Kultur, nachtkritik.de), Ulrike Maack (freelance director), Dr Barbara Müller-Wesemann (Hamburg University of Music and Theatre) and Stephan Schad (actor).

Ilka von Bodungen, managing director of Hamburgische Kulturstiftung: »As a passionate theatre lover, Rita Tanck-Glaser bequeathed this prize to us so that we could honour actors for their outstanding performances on Hamburg's stages. Oda Thormeyer is a fixture in the Thalia ensemble who does not need to play the leading role to leave a lasting impression. She has excelled in numerous, very different productions and roles with her subtle acting, her wit and her versatility. We would like to thank the jury for their choice!«

The award ceremony will take place on 2 December 2025 in the Nachtasyl bar at Thalia Theater. The laudatory speech will be given by actor Julian Greis, also a member of the Thalia ensemble. You can register for the event with Hamburgische Kulturstiftung via → veranstaltungen@kulturstiftung-hh.de. Admission is free.

Born in Fürstenau, Oda Thormeyer studied drama at Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. From 1983, she was engaged at the Burgtheater in Vienna, moving on to Schauspiel Frankfurt in 1992 and to Deutsches Schauspielhaus in Hamburg in 1995, where she appeared in Luk Perceval's Shakespeare adaptation Schlachten!. In 2000, she joined the ensemble at Schauspiel Hannover and worked with directors such as Jürgen Gosch, Christina Paulhofer and, once more, Luk Perceval. Since the 09/10 season, Oda Thormeyer has been a member of the ensemble at Thalia Theater. In 2011, she played the mother in Dimiter Gotscheff's production of Peter Handke's Immer noch Sturm, a co-production of Thalia Theater and Salzburger Festspiele. With the production Jeder stirbt für sich allein by Hans Fallada, in a version by Luk Perceval and Christina Bellingen, she was invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen 2013. At the Vienna Theatre Prize Nestroy in 2019, she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of Frau Muskat in Liliom (directed by Kornél Mundruczó). She has also worked on film and television productions such as Tatort, Notruf Hafenkante, Gefesselt, Nord bei Nordwest and feature films such as Der Geschmack von Apfelkernen and Da kommt noch was.

Previous winners of the Rita Tanck-Glaser Prize were Catrin Striebeck (2023), Marion Breckwoldt (2010), Norman Hacker (2006), Peter Kurth (2004), Monica Bleibtreu (2002), André Jung (2000), Elisabeth Schwarz (1998) and Hans Christian Rudolph (1996).

Hamburgische Kulturstiftung was founded in 1988 as a private foundation. It focuses on promoting young artists in the fields of music, theatre, dance, performance, visual arts, literature and film, as well as children's and youth culture. Due to its limited endowment capital and low returns, the foundation must continually seek new sources of funding. As an intermediary between private sponsors, business and culture, it therefore actively raises funds through a variety of charity events, a circle of friends, project sponsorships and collaborations with other foundations.

Source: Hamburgische Kulturstiftung