Overawed and underrated: while some are still waiting for the Neukölln hype, others knew all along that this part of town is ‘happening’. Take the 10 girls who make up Heimathafen Neukölln.

“We wanted to do something about the bad name Neukölln had in the media, and at the same time make use of the area’s many abandoned buildings,” says the group’s co-founder Anne Verena Freybott, a dramaturge and playwright. Since 2007, they’ve being doing just that – and now in a new venue: the old Saalbau, on Karl-Marx-Str.

Inspired by the tradition of local theatres in Berlin, Heimathafen Neukölln decided in 2007 to dust off old Neukölln theatre pieces and work together with locals in an empty Eckkneipe in the Richardkiez to literally produce theatre on a street level. The next year saw the revival of Alte Post Neukölln on Karl-Marx-Straße, which previously stood empty.

Since April, Heimathafen has been continuing a rich tradition begun at the Saalbau in 1876 by opening its stage to local theatre and musical theatre productions. It also hosts guest productions, modern projects, neighbourhood tours, concerts and party nights.

“The way we understand Volkstheater is that it starts with the stories, places and people,” says Freybott. “There is a kind of honesty in Neukölln. People are interested in talking to you. And it’s an area where creativity can be seen and used.”