Paul Pörtner

Paul Pörtner (25 January 1925 – 16 November 1984) was a German playwright, novelist, translator, and editor.

After doing an apprenticeship as director at the municipal theatre in his native town of Wuppertal, Paul Pörtner began studying philosophy, and German and French literature at the University of Cologne in 1951.Later on he continued his studies in France. In 1958 he began earning his living as a professional author, and from 1976 on he was permanently employed by Norddeutscher Rundfunk Hamburg as a director of radio plays.

His short stories and novels very often deal with "losers" – as a very young man, he himself became handicapped while at war. His work shows Paul Pörtner to be a writer who was deeply drawn to the burlesque as well as having his characters act in desperate ways. He loved experimental language and word play.

His interest in avant-garde theatre led him to the theories of Jacob Levy Moreno, Antonin Artaud and Erwin Piscator. However, through his work on stage as director and playwright he fell under the charm of the commedia dell'arte, Kurt Schwitters or Alfred Jarry. In 1963 Paul Pörtner invented the interactive play Scherenschnitt oder Der Mörder sind Sie where the audience takes over the leading role. It premiered the same year at the Ulmer Theatre, and thereafter, 75 German-speaking theatres followed. In the USA Scherenschnitt, entitled Shear Madness, became the longest running play ever done in American history. Eighteen productions in other countries have made Scherenschnitt a singular international hit: following Agatha Christie`s Mouse Trap, Paul Pörtner`s interactive play is the longest-running play around the world.

In addition to 17 theatre plays, Pörtner wrote more than 20 radio plays that are still influential in this typically German genre.

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