Berlin (BE)

After a performance of “Zvizdal” during the Berliner Festspiele, the makers of Berlin meet a spirited, elderly German. They get talking and are immediately fascinated by his improbable life story. Several discussions and weeks later, they decide to dedicate the final part of their Holocene Cycle, in which they have created a series of city portraits, to him – with Wagner’s Götterdämmerung in a crucial role.

“The making of Berlin” is a portrait of a city, constructed around the story of a Berliner who worked as an orchestral conductor at the Berlin Philharmonic. A man with an exceptional story who would like nothing more than to complete an unfinished chapter of this life. The makers want to help the man realise his dream, with the aid of, amongst other, the orchestra of Opera Ballet Flanders and radio station Klara. But all too soon they uncover cracks in his story.

“The making of Berlin” provides fascinating insights into the working methods of the artistic collective. As with most of their performances, reflections about the composition of reality and the thin red line between truth and lie are also essential to their most recent work.

The performance on 18th May will be followed by an artist talk in English.
Presentation: Prof. Dr. Clemens Risi – Institut für Theater- und Medienwissenschaft, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg