A strange family indeed

INTERVIEW. Veteran actor Tom Strauss is giving The Lab, a play programme at ETB dedicated to presenting contemporary English works, the revival it deserves. The May edition features Cinders on Sun, May 20.

May 11, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Speed dating the Stückemarkt

INTERVIEWS. Three up-and-comers from Theatertreffen's Stückemarkt, Pamela Carter, Julia Holewińska and Magda Fertacz, give us quick takes on what makes them, and their plays, tick. Enjoy getting to know them here!

May 8, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Theatertreffen 2012: A German theatre summit

May 4-21 marks the return of the eclectic TT. Hosted by Haus der Berliner Festspiele, it promises the 10 most noteworthy productions from the German-speaking theatre world. Check our own cooperation with Theatertreffen Blog for the latest on it.

May 2, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

New Russian soul

INTERVIEW. Dubbed "the man behind modern Russian ballet", choreographer Boris Eifman brings his sensationally divisive, over-the-top aesthetic to Berlin for the ballet adaptations of Anna Karenina and Onegin.

Apr 17, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Six questions for... Vaginal Davis

INTERVIEW. The Camp/Anti-Camp: A Queer Guide to Everyday Life special! Vaginal Davis opens her mouth about talking from the diaphragm. Camp/ Anti-Camp runs Apr 19-21.

Apr 16, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage (3 Comments)

An X-rated hard knock life

A cult musical from the 1970s translated from the perspective of the child sex trade? Annie: The Fantasy at the Theaterhaus Mitteis dance theater that succeeds in letting the audience laugh, and ask why at the same time.

Apr 10, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Joan La Barbara: Back to Cage

INTERVIEW. Long-time John Cage collaborator La Barbara brings the work of the avant-garde composer to the Berlin stage on March 17 at Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Mar 12, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

The woman behind the helix

Photograph 51 paved the way for the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA and its method of replication. Not focusing on science, but on the people whose hopes and dreams depend on it, this play makes for an engaging evening of theatre.

Mar 9, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Splatter theatre: Shannon Murphy

INTERVIEW. The director of the experiential theatre collective Sands through the Hourglass discusses the group’s in-your-face performances, on display this month at F.I.N.D. festival.

Mar 5, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Send in the clown: Peter Shub

INTERVIEW. These days the American-born entertainer is bringing his hilarity to a new domain: dinner theatre. His run at the Palazzo dinner theatre ends on Sun, Mar 4.

Feb 28, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

100º 2012: Is it hot in here?

Ninth edition of the Berlin chaotic “free-scene” performance descends on Mitte and Kreuzberg, promising dance, theater and a good measure of the unexpected. Our Blitz-guide offers a rundown of the best.

Feb 21, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

"The drug of capitalism"

INTERVIEW. Max Schumacher, founder and co-artistic director of the international multiplatform Post Theater, discusses his latest muse – coffee. It starts its jittery run on Feb 9 at Dock 11.

Feb 8, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

The Sophiensæle renovation

Jan 5, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Sophiensæle in five dates

Jan 5, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

The Sophiensæle building: Renovated and back!

Interview: artistic director Franziska Werner. Fifteen years after its founding, the Sophiensæle celebrated with a partial, much-needed renovation and a new leadership structure. Tanztage 12 opens today, so it's a perfect chance to check it out!

Jan 5, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Tanztage 12

Jan 4, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

Like a virgin: A chat with Chris Scherer

Fresh from down under, via a detour through Portugal, Australian performer and choreographer Chris Scherer is premiering his new work, Virginised, during the Tanztage.

Jan 3, 2012 by Summer Banks in Stage

"The real world is difficult to recognize"

INTERVIEW: director Stephane Braunschweig. What do we make of a man who kidnaps the troubled for his own brand of intervention? The director explains it to us.

Dec 14, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

Critical mass

INTERVIEW: Nicola Hümpel of Nico and the Navigators. The ensemble is stages Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle, putting a contemporary spin on what the great comic composer called his “poor little Mass”.

Nov 9, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

“There is no rigid recipe for this”

Interview: composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. Salonen continues to champion new music in a classical setting, turning fossilized institutions to his policy of a mixed orchestral repertoire.

Aug 30, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

Postcards from the Fringe

Summer Banks is at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in, well, Edinburgh. But she's giving us a first-hand account of the German influence on what some consider to be the most important arts festival in the world.

Aug 16, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

“Do we really need a live orgy to show off the clothes?”

INTERVIEW: Mad Kate and Juan de Chamié. Combining all of their mediums, the opening of EXIT boutique was a fashion show titled The Feast of Pan and featuring a filmed orgy.

Jul 23, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

Robert Wilson in five dates

May 31, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

"I've never told an actor what to think"

Interview: Robert Wilson.The prolific American director talks Lulu and upcoming projects, including the highly anticipated The Life and Death of Marina Abramović.

May 31, 2011 by Summer Banks in Stage

“There is no such thing as an ‘immigration theme’”

Interview: director Nurkan Erpulat. Erpulat’s rising fame in German theater defies all the media clichés about Turkish immigrants. Verrücktes Blut (Mad Blood) won him of an invitation to the Theatertreffen.

May 5, 2011 by Summer Banks in Film