The stage designers Caspar Neher and Karl von Appen, the composers Paul Dessau and Hanns Eisler, as well as the dramaturge Elisabeth Hauptmann, were among Brecht's closest collaborators.

After Brecht's death, 3 plays, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Schweik in the Second World War, and The Visions of Simone Machard, had their premieres with the Ensemble.

Under the new artistic management, the Berliner Ensemble changed from a state-owned theatre into a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (limited liability company) subsidized by the city government.

Müller's production of Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, with Martin Wuttke playing the title role, became one of the most successful in the history of the Berliner Ensemble.

Claus Peymann, the provocative and successful manager of the Burgtheater in Vienna, was finally appointed to the position and reopened the theatre in January 2000, after extensive renovations were completed.

In 2019, it was announced that an annex to Das Theater am Schiffbauerdamm would be built in autumn of that year, giving the theatre a second, fully equipped auditorium for the first time.