apiro Stage brings creativity to the stage that entertains and inspires.
We create diverse entertainment. At its heart is always the aim to bring it to the stage in its most varied forms, with the highest quality, courage and class.
With productions such as Himmel und Kölle and the world premiere of Kick like a Woman, the team around founder Frank Blase is laying the foundations for establishing Cologne as a permanent home of German music theatre.
More about our approach
apiro Stage is devoted entirely to the stage. From the first idea through book and composition to opening night, everything is created in house.
Visions set to music: we develop musicals that stir emotions and draw audiences into a world of captivating stories. Everything is created here in house, from the first brainstorm through book and composition to the finished production.
From timeless dramas to gripping character studies: we create immersive stages for theatre lovers, from concept to opening night.
Musical
Chaos between confessional and brewery: a light-hearted declaration of love to Cologne, with plenty of heart, local colour and guaranteed earworms.
Musical · World premiere
A young woman following her passion, a team that pushes past every boundary, and a story that makes sporting history.
Play
Two of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, one evening at the bar, and the question of what remains of a life devoted to art.
With Depot 1 in Cologne-Mülheim and the Volksbühne am Rudolfplatz we play in two houses that could hardly be more different, and which together create the space that major productions need.
apiro Stage is organised as a non-profit company. What we earn flows into new material, into supporting writers and composers, and into working with the next generation.
We develop original works rather than licensed material and give writers and composers the space that such works need.
We give young talents a stage: they take part in professional productions from the very beginning, visibly and responsibly, on stage or behind it.
We support a wide range of stage productions and innovative formats that enrich music theatre and the theatre landscape in the German-speaking world.
In November 2026 the curtain rises for the first time on our new musical at Depot 1 in Cologne-Mülheim.
From Depot 1 in Cologne-Mülheim to the Volksbühne am Rudolfplatz: where apiro Stage performs.
All stage productions will run through apiro Stage gemeinnützige GmbH from now on. What that means.
Whether it is a collaboration, sponsorship, press enquiry or an idea that belongs on a stage: we look forward to hearing from you.
