The situation of the English Theater is unworthy of Frankfurt.

In a city that prides itself on its internationality, it has been unclear for months whether continental Europe's largest English-language theater has a future.

The closure would be a great loss for the cultural landscape of Frankfurt and the Rhine-Main region.

Since it was founded in 1979, the theater has long since established itself as a venue and as an important factor in the education of children and young people.

For many adolescents from the region, a visit to the theater with the English course was and is obligatory - and a good opportunity to use the foreign language skills they have just learned.

However, the venue of the theater is in danger due to a change of ownership of the Gallileo Tower, and the lease ends on April 15, 2023. The previous main tenant and landlord, Commerzbank, has ruled out an extension.

The new owner, real estate investor CapitaLand, is only willing to sign a new lease from February 2024 if it acts as landlord.

Neither party feels responsible for the nine and a half months in between.

Question of guilt secondary

The rooms on the ground floor and basement of the tower are actually intended for theater use.

This is what the original contract between the city of Frankfurt and the client at the time says, as highlighted in the English Theatre.

However, it is unclear whether this obligation was also included in the contract with the new owner, CapitaLand, as planned.

Even Daniel Nicolai, the director of the theater, does not know and, according to his own statements, has been trying to clarify the modalities since June.

He is supported by the planning department head Mike Josef and the culture department head Ina Hartwig (both SPD).

The cultural policy spokesman for the CDU, Christian Becker, in turn accuses her of a lack of commitment to the preservation of the theatre.

Whose fault the unclear situation is, however, is of secondary importance.

It would be much more important that everyone involved quickly find a joint solution - and the contract - so that the theater has planning security and can concentrate again on what it is valued for: bringing demanding English-language productions to the stage for a broad audience.