German sculptor, puppet and set designer and builder. After designing sets for the Puppentheater Neubrandenburg (Puppet Theatre of Neubrandenburg), including for the play Vom Fischer un syner Fru (About the Fisherman and his Wife, 1978), since 1979 Christian Werdin has worked freelance as a set designer for puppet theatres, actors’ theatres and television.

Werdin’s work is distinguished by its precision and artistry (worthy of the old masters), the oddity of his ideas and a large dose of functionality. He was co-founder of and designer for Theater Zinnober, now Theater o.N. (Zinnober), for which he made among others the set for Die Jäger des verlorenen Verstandes (Hunters of the Lost Mind, 1982).

His works for other theatres include: Die Paradiesinsel (Paradise Island, 1987) for East German television; Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel, 1989), directed by Therese Thomaschke; Seltsame Schleifen (Odd Loops or Ribbons, 1990), by Jochen Menzel; Der Bischof von China (The Bishop of China, 2004) for the Theater Waidspeicher Erfurt.

Since 1987 he has taught puppet design at the Hochschule für Schauspielkunst “Ernst Busch” (Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Art) in Berlin.

Christian Werdin has significantly influenced East German scenography and, after 1989, he helped give new momentum to German stage design. Many exhibitions have been devoted to his work in Germany and abroad (Berlin, Prague, Paris, Novi Sad).

(See Germany.)