1. In 2017 Oliver Reese succeeded Claus Peymann as Intendant of the Berliner Ensemble. In the lead-up to his first season, Reese publicly declared a new direction for the theatre, which would be oriented to producing new plays by living authors.

2. Atop the Volksbühne for much of Castorf's tenure were neon letters spelling out “OST”—the German for “east.” The sign was a reminder to passersby that the theatre was located in the former communist sector of East Berlin. In the mid-1990s, the Volksbühne installed the metal sculpture that would become its iconic symbol: the Räuberrad (Robber's Wheel). Designed by the Volksbühne's Bert Neumann, the Räuberrad was a four-meter-high wheel with legs that stood on the lawn in front of the Volksbühne. Before leaving the theatre in 2017, Castorf had both the “OST” sign and the Räuberrad removed.

3. Tim Renner was Berlin's Secretary for Cultural Affairs during 2014–16. He is seen as primarily responsible for the decision to appoint Chris Dercon as the new Intendant of the Volksbühne.

4. Bert Neumann was an artist and the lead designer at the Volksbühne until his death in 2015. Bettina Masuch was a dramaturg at the Volksbühne. She attended the Applied Theatre Arts program at the University of Giessen, which is where Pollesch also studied, under, among others, Hans-Thies Lehmann.

5. Susanne Kennedy and Walter Asmus are two directors who have productions running in Dercon's first season.