Volker Heißmann

Volker Heißmann is a German Kabarett artist, actor, director and theater entrepreneur born on March 10, 1969 in Fürth, Bavaria. He is best known as one half of the legendary Franconian widow duo Waltraud und Mariechen, where he plays Mariechen Bezold opposite Martin Rassau's Waltraud Lehneis. Heißmann is co-founder and co-managing director of the Comödie Fürth, Bavaria's largest private theater, and a central figure in the Franconian Kabarett scene. He has been performing on stage since the age of five and works in a tradition that blends German Volkstheater, character comedy in drag and dialect-driven satire.

Heißmann's partnership with Martin Rassau began with joint school performances in 1983 and turned professional in 1991 when the two opened the Kleine Komödie in Nuremberg. The duo's Waltraud und Mariechen characters were born in 1991 from observing two elderly women in a Fürth café and exploded to nationwide fame in 1997 with their appearance at Fastnacht in Franken on Bayerischer Rundfunk in Veitshöchheim. In 1998 Heißmann co-founded Comödie Fürth in the historic Berolzheimerianum together with Rassau, Michael Urban and Marcel Gasde, building it into Bavaria's largest private theater. His work spans hundreds of TV broadcasts on BR and ARD, dozens of Comödie productions and the long-running national tour. Recognitions include the Golden Citizen Medal of the City of Fürth (2007) and the Bavarian Dialect Prize special award (2017, with Rassau). His current touring program with Rassau is "Lustbarkeiten" (2025-2026).

Volker Heißmann is on tour with Martin Rassau through the 2025-2026 season with their program "Lustbarkeiten," featuring fast-paced sketches, original wordplay and a guest appearance from the widow duo Waltraud und Mariechen. The home venue is Comödie Fürth (Berolzheimerianum) in the Fürth city center, with regular shows in Franconia and tour dates across German-speaking Europe including a residency at Comödie Dresden.