Overwhelmed by all the options of things to do in Berlin? We know the feeling. So, we rounded up our top picks in music, art, theater, and more for the weekend of March 6th to 8th.
Theater
“The appeal in Howl is to the secret or hermetic tradition of art ‘justifying’ or ‘making up for’ defeat in worldly life….”—Alan Ginsberg said of his provoking ballad. At the time, Howl incited a spectrum of creative expression in photography (Lee Friedlander and Robert Frank,) and music (Bob Dylan and Patti Smith.) Today, stage director David Marton’s musical training allows him a unique multi-dimensional perspective; his Howl – based on Alan Ginsberg on Sunday at Volksbühne is a wild and weird ride, where a carnival feel complete with candy colors and mish-mashed visuals provides a kaleidoscopic look into Ginsberg’s alternate universe.
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Art
The Finnish artist Arno Rafael Minkkinen has said that “art is risk made visible.” In his exhibit Going the Distance at Persons Projects at Berlin’s Helsinki School, that idea is taken to the maximum. The show features self-portraits of his naked body against crisp and vast natural surroundings. Photographs whir with breath and sensation; is his wrist a tree trunk? Isn’t he cold? March 7th is the last chance to wonder in Berlin.
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Demo
2019 saw the first official celebration of International Women’s Day in Berlin. The demonstration Frauen*kampftag this Sunday, which convenes at Leopoldplatz at 2pm, takes a stand against patriarchal structures, inviting all people to come together under the umbrella of equal rights, equal pay, and freedom of choice. Last year, the Bündnis für sexuelle Selbstimmung (alliance for sexual freedom) addressed topics including tampon tax, safer birth assistance, better care for women refugees, and transgender rights.
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Night Life
Well, more accurately, “Day-to-Night Life”—STAUB, the techno party at ://aboutblank from 10am to 10pm this Saturday remains comparably non-mainstream. Lineups are never announced ahead of time, so music can speak for itself. The format allows Berlin’s DJs more flexibility against the city’s strict double-booking rules, and lets prominent artists fly under the radar. It’s “techno-communism,” says promotor Irakli, because everyone pitches in equally.
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Classical Music
Giaccomo Meyerbeer’s music, full-scale Romantic surges of lyricism, folklore, and humor, didn’t get much exposure in the 20th century because of criticism by Richard Wagner after his death and the suppression of his music during Nazi regime. Today the Jewish composer’s works can be appreciated in Berlin. This Saturday, conductor Enrique Mazzola leads a concert version of Dinorah ou Le Pardon de Ploërmel (1859) at Deutsche Oper Berlin, featuring soloists Rocío Pérez, Régis Mengus, and Philippe Talbot.
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Dance
Christine Bonansea’s dances are like explosions of living, extending light. Her keen combination of performance, installation, and film creates displays of the here and now. With a background in modern literature and contemporary dance, the American choreographer’s work has international scope, encouraging the viewer “to tune in more effectively to our consciousness of presence and temporality.” OH2 at Dock 11, on March 7th and 8th, is a chance to see movement electrified.
Berlin Artifact 