Benno Besson
Benno Besson (1922-2006), an internationally renowned actor and theatre director from Yverdon, created countless productions in several languages in some dozen countries.
In 1947, Besson was asked by Bertold Brecht to go to East Berlin, where he founded the Berliner Ensemble together with the playwright. He staged some fifty classical and contemporary productions with this troupe. From 1969 onwards, he directed Volksbühne and then Comédie de Genève. All in all he staged some sixty productions during this period.
In 1998, Yverdon-les-Bains decided to baptise its largest theatre “Théâtre Benno Besson”, in homage to this great theatre director born in the town at the tip of Lake Neuchâtel.












