A few weeks ago we had the pleasure to be invited to try out a brand new resto-bar in Berlin and we finally want to share our experience with you today.
Bellboy Berlin is a concept bar that comes from Israel and much like other places from there such as Benedict, Night Kitchen, and Shishi, you can expect an overall experience for the senses and heart and not just a regular restaurant visit.
Berlin is a restless city. Spätis open 24/7, clubnights going on from Thursday afternoon to Monday morning and the high energy of the club kids on speed makes it sometimes hard to find a place to calm down, outside your own four walls. Israeli theater maker Hila Golan, Niva Dloomy and Ariel Nil Levy just released a new magical piece that’s calling attention to the sleep disorders of an entire society. The tale of the Princess and the Pea forms the framework of this theater performance about a world-known phenomenon that affects all parts of society. In this new version the pile of mattresses grows and grows, craving for dreams and relaxation, but a general restlessness keeps us awake.
In continuous self-optimization on the outer and the inner shell, private concerns, constant availability, and last but not least the feeling of helplessness and passive complicity in the face of current world events, the question arises: How can we get sleep? While the actors have to deal with the causes and consequences of ongoing insomnia, their environment becomes more and more unpredictable due to the sophisticated interplay of Christian Maith’s light design and stage design by media artist Mayan Printz. The bright and dark waking hours are captured by Eli Fabrikant’s composed “low-tech music”. You should not miss this performances in English going on now and in December. More pphotos and the dates after the jump.
photo: Enrico Nawrath
Sometimes a dance or theater piece is simply so amazing that it seems impossible to write a review that would measure up to the experience of seeing the piece. Still, I will try to make the effort, because I have to recommend to you the Open Square, a piece by Itzik Gallili at the Staatsballett Berlin.
The whole piece is a post-modern celebration of lights and shadows reflecting on the human body. I never saw a choreographic work that would use the postures and movements of ballet and was capable of creating a different context. Open Square is not just a dance piece, but more a ritual. A magic that demands to bend the limits of the human body and leave the constraints of our mind. The world premiere by the Israeli choreographer is a fierce move for the company in a more unconventional direction and it proves to be the right step to take. Everyone who is usually afraid of girls in tutu and boys in leggings should venture into the ballet world by seeing Open Square. It will open your mind like a box of Pandora and make you forget all prejudices and retentions you might have towards this form of art. More impressions and dates after the jump.
photo: Dan Hirsch
We all know that living together in a 35 square meter studio apartment in Berlin did not bring eternal love and happiness to the young couples of the city. And still I see more and more people moving together in tiny apartmens, losing their privacy in the name of love and money. But what does all this saving money bring you in the end if you will wreck your relationship. Maybe love just can’t be a bargain.
The economy of love and relationships in Berlin is also the topic of the upcoming piece Save Your Love by Israeli director Ariel Nil Levy and performers Hila Golan, Niva Dloomy at Theaterdiscounter. A basic berlin relationship will unfold in front of your eyes with all the problems love can have of living in a big city in a small apartment. The piece is suited for an English-speaking audience. Furthermore during all of December there will be performances around the topic of love at this little theater which now is fighting for its existence, since the state will not support it in the future. Let’s hope for the best and let’s get some love there this month. The dates and the address after the jump.
photo: Bernhard Musil
Contemporary dance is a lot of things: beautiful, inspiring, energetic, traumatic and sometimes boring. But it is almost never funny. Unless you are watching a piece of Nir de Volff collective Total Brutal. The performances of the Israeli choreographer who started his Berlin career by making crazy pieces in Dock 11 at Kastanienallee never lost their black and outrageous humor. So maybe it is not a cliché after all that Jews have a good sense of humor. Anyway, his new pieces premiering this week at Sophiensaele does not only have some sexy dancers to show off, but also a very intense topic. Two cities – Berlin and Tel Aviv – struggling with financial issues and political troubles have a hard time to work on their future. Its young inhabitants dance their pain away instead of worrying about the problems. Inside a vibrant nightclub 5 dancers meet and talk about their fears of the future. Reminiscent of the Golden 20s the nightclub transforms into a cabaret of anxiety. Photos and dates after the jump.
Read on…