Theaters (theatres) – All our local tips

Throughout its life  (opened in 1873) the Admiralspalast theatre has had an idiosyncratic history. During the 1920’s and 30’s it was a pleasure palace of sorts, hosting in it’s parameters a bath house, restaurant, a speak easy, the worlds first indoor ice skating revue show, as well as the grandiose Art Deco theatre which houses up to 1700 people at a time.

At one point it even housed a DDR “Press Café” at the front of the building where  subversive bohemians would meet.  After years of closure the Admiralspalast was recently revamped and reopened in August 2006.

There are various types of productions staged here, from My Fair Lady to Brechts 3-Penny Opera, to live performances from De La Soul.

My favourite event is their regular quarterly swing dance/music party,  hosted in the main theatre and themed differently each time yet always dedicated solely to swing music, high fashion and old school sophistication. Recently headling the part was an exclusive Berlin performance by sibling trio ‘Kitty, Daisy and Lewis’.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Admiralspalast | Art & culture, Bars, Music, Theaters | Ticket +/- € 22.00
Friedrichstrasse 101 | Mitte | +493032533144
Mon – Sat 12:00 – 19:00, Sun 12:00 – 17:00

“For me Berliner backyards are like surprises. You never know what’s waiting for you behind the gate.”

On one hand the way apartment buildings were built during the so called “Gründerzeit” (time around 1870-1914) produced the typical apartment blocks in Berlin, now known as “Altbauten” (old buildings) or “Mietskasernen” (tenements). On the other hand it gave Berlin those backyards everywhere.

In a particular area called “Scheunenviertel” (Barn Quarter) you can find a couple of very interesting “Hinterhöfe” where life seems to be hidden. Enjoy theatres, cinemas, galleries, museums, shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and other surprises there!

Except for “Hackesche Höfe“, now a tourist magnet and the most prominent complex of backyards, tourists and even Berliners don’t visit them. That is very unfortunate. And you will understand that if you go out to discover the following backyards:
– Backyard of Haus Schwarzenberg (see the Haus Schwarzenberg article)
- Heckmannhöfe (see the Heckmanhoefe article)
- Hackesche Höfe: a complex of 8 backyards
Rosenthaler Straße 40/41 & Sophienstraße 6
- Kunsthof, contains very nice hospitality and quality galleries
Oranienburger Strasse 27
- Sophie-Gips-Höfe, contains the Hoffmann Collection (see the Hoffmann collection article) Sophienstraße 21
- Rosenhöfe, Rosenthaler Strasse 36
- Panasia/Gallerie Cicero, Rosenthaler Strasse 38

Also, I’d like to encourage you to keep your eyes open for many other backyards in this area and not to be shy to enter them. With a bit of luck you can find real jewels of cultural & night life in them!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Berliner backyards | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Coffee & tea, Shopping, Theaters, Restaurants
Different locations | Mitte
Various opening times

Located next to the New Jewish Synagogue, the trio of backyards (see the Backyard article) “Heckmannhoefe” are really worth discovering.

Entering from Oranienburger Strasse, the first backyard contains a little bookshop and a candy-making shop in the basement, the “Bonbonmacherei” where you can watch Katja and Hjalmar produce traditional sweets with antique equipments.

In the second backyard, the main one of the three, you’ll see why this is certainly one of the nicest backyards complexes in Scheunenviertel. It houses a little theater, boutiques, cafes, restaurants and even a hairdresser’s shop. The surrounding ivy clad buildings invite you to take a seat on a bench next to a lovely little fountain.

In the third backyard which you can also enter from Auguststrasse there isn’t that much special stuff going on – except for the impression you’ll get when you see how residents have improved their homes with a nice little gazebo structure in their own backyard – that is the real Berliner backyard culture (see the Backyard article)!

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Heckmannhoefe | Art & culture, Relaxing, Shopping, Theaters
Oranienburger Strasse 32 | Mitte
Daily

It doesn’t happen very often that a very old brewery inhabits places for culture and night life – but here it does. The Kulturbrauerei (literally “Culture Brewery”) is one of these places Berlin is so much loved for (see it as a recipe for Berlin’s venues: Take something old, but don’t tear it down and build new – recycle! Leave it unfinished or renovate and rebuild it – keeping the old spirit and looks in order to create a new (but still old) place; an interesting, historical and architectural landmark.)

I think the Kulturbrauerei is one the highlights of these sort of places. It is a complex of former brewery buildings (boiler house, machine house, stable, canteen,…) that are now host to the places we can find there now:
Night clubs, cafes, bars, a cinema, theatres, an important concert house, a dance school, a billiard saloon, a cooking workshop, but also companies such as publishing houses, a bicycle hire shop (Berlin on Bike also offers guided tours on bikes) and many others.

Fans of old architecture will definitely enjoy Kulturbrauerei which is a wonderful example of the long period of historism. The 1889 complex has a bit in common with a castle from the middle ages. The renovation, completed in 2000, kept the old brewery air and hence made it one of the nicest and most important cultural platforms in Prenzlauer Berg and surely in whole Berlin, too.

The website is user-friendly, in German and English and comes up with cool moving surround views. See here for the cultural program and opening times as well as the presentation of each venue.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Kulturbrauerei | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Music, Theaters
Knaackstraße 97 | Prenzlauer Berg
Daily

Yesterday, Jochen Sandig founded Tacheles (check the Tacheles article), the graffiti art house in Oranienburgerstr, today he is one of the founders of Radialsystem.

Recently, during a conference on public space, this location was referred to as a theatre, to which Mr Sandig replied: ‘I’m sorry, I have to contradict you, this space is not a theatre; Radialsystem is … a Radialsystem’. And indeed it is.

Radialsystem used to be a pumping station for a new system of waste water management for the city until 1999, and it is now one elegant and curious looking space for art. The mixture of red bricks and glass welcomes the viewer with a nice terrace by the river, a bar and a tamed industrial interior hosting many art events.

Radialsystem is an open space for creative ideas and hosts new media exhibitions, dance performances, concerts, theatre plays, conferences, receptions and many more. One exhibition opening I have attended there dazzled us with a cello concert performed in the dark. It started a lot of discussions. It made people think.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Radialsystem | Art & culture, Music, Theaters
Holzmarktstr. 33 | Friedrichshain | +493028878850
Open daily

Go to Kunsthaus Tacheles! If I was to recommend you one place in Berlin to go to – it would be the Tacheles!

This ruin is basically the rest of a 1909 shopping mall. The rest of it which still exists today has survived bomb hits in WW II and plans of blasting. That could be avoided in 1990 by an initiative of artists, called “Tacheles”. As time passed it became a place full of life and a very important Berlin art center.

You should check out the Kunsthaus (= art house) Tacheles for many reasons:
- an extremely special, creative, alternative and lively place
- galleries and studios of at least 50 here working artists
- the wide range of their interesting art: paintings, sculptures, photos, collages, installations, videos
- High End 54 – a bar and cinema screening non-mainstream movies (program)
- the “panorama bar” on the top floor and the Café Zapata downstairs
- the “Goldener Saal” (”Golden Hall”): a huge and flexible hall for any sort of performing arts
- the backyard with the beer garden: full of interesting details such as sculptures and installations
- the architecture of the building (protected as a monument)
- here you can really feel the way the city of Berlin ticks
- uniqueness, independence from money

The website of Tacheles is partly in English, German and Spanish; other languages appear out of the blue. Though without structure about the languages, you’ll get on with the site to find out more about Tacheles.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Tacheles | Art & culture, Bars, Cinemas, Theaters
Oranienburger Str. 54-56a | Mitte | +49302826185
Daily

One play I have seen there some time ago was a jam session and had an improvised open ending, which slowly transformed into a competition: who will last longer? The actors improvising on the stage, or the spectators invited already to leave? It was not until after midnight that the curtain was down.

Volksbuehne is an experimental theatre. Like any experimental endeavor, it is not for everybody. Expect most of the times live filming, simultaneous video projections and loud music.

The theatre has another small stage in Kastanienallee, the Volksbuehne im Prater. This is right next to the Prater beer garden, which is a delight during warm days. Besides the great plays, there is a wonderful gigantic wooden table next to the bar in the Volksbuehne im Prater. While waiting to enter the play, the spectators can sipp a drink around this table – this circle gives an uncanny warm feeling and it creates a familiarity among people who haven’t met before.

Note: The plays are in German.

Details about this spot (Show on map)
Volksbuehne | Bars, Relaxing, Theaters | Students € 3.50
Linienstraße 227 | Mitte | +4930240655
Plays almost every day of the week