The Next Day #1: Introduction
Berlin Bliss: Your Weekend Guide
‘Berlin, the greatest cultural extravaganza that one could imagine.’ - David Bowie
The soundtrack for this edition: Boarding Gate 070 with Different Shades
By Lalai Persson
São Paulo is a city with so much going on. Whenever I was exploring new places, people always asked me, "So, what’s going on this weekend?". At the time, I had a travel lifestyle website called “Chicken or Pasta,” and I decided to create a weekly guide with my selection of events for the weekend. Writing the guide made me even more curious about what was happening in the city and gave me magical moments in São Paulo.
I've been visiting Berlin since 1997, and in October 2019, I moved here excited about the city's vibrant cultural scene. But then the pandemic hit. So instead of attending events, I ended up exploring the city by bike, discovering its neighborhoods, forests, parks, and lakes, which were a way to know the other side of Berlin. As soon as the city returned to normal and everything reopened, I explored some of Berlin's extensive cultural and artistic agenda. However, it wasn’t on my radar because Berlin is a city where everything is happening all at once. There are so many options that it's not always easy to choose where to go. There are times that I miss something that I would have loved to attend.
I started this newsletter to satisfy my wanderlust and explore new places and events in Berlin. The name "The Next Day" comes from the album name of David Bowie, who lived in Berlin. In this album, the song "Where Are We Now?" details Bowie's life in Berlin in the late 1970s.
"The Next Day" isn't intended to be "the best guide to the city" or "always bringing something new." This newsletter will feature my discoveries, even if they are places that have existed for years, as well as tips on concerts, exhibitions, theater, dance, walks, and more that I would love to attend.
Suggestions are always welcome.
By Mateus Furlanetto
There are hundreds of theater plays, dance pieces, and performances to be seen every month in Berlin. There are options for all tastes, styles, and budgets. From the most commercial to the most experimental, from the canonical to the disruptive, from the Italian stage to the drifts around the city. Shows that tour the world in festivals here are part of the repertoire of some theaters. When I lived in São Paulo, I didn't miss the foreign productions that were performed in town. Now I feel that I live permanently in a theater festival.
Everyone has their own aesthetic preferences when it comes to theater, dance, and performance. Their combinations begin to define the boundaries in this kind of art that has already been broken down. However, novelty is the radar I use to find and choose the plays I go to see, which nourishes me with a varied repertoire of aesthetics, themes, styles, and languages.
The factors of selection range from where the play is being performed, who the director is, who the actors are, who the author is, etcetera. When I have no other reference, I read the synopsis of the play, or refer to a publicity photo or promotional video.
I have been following the city's cultural scene since 2018, and I confess there is still much to be discovered. The particulars that I will share in this newsletter are about the shows and festivals that pique my interest and that I feel are noteworthy.
Feel free to share your tips and suggestions. I hope to see you in the theaters around Berlin.
Agenda
🎭 Dance & Performance Festival: Leisure & Pleasure
The festival explores the connections of pleasure and activism, and questions art’s ability to heal societal exhaustion - and dreams of life beyond work.
Until July 1 - Sophiensaele, Sophienstraße 18, 10178 Berlin.
🎭 KillJoy Quiz (Theater)
Using multiple-choice questions, Luanda Casella exposes patriarchal violence and its omnipresence in everyday life in a TV quiz show-style performance. By Luanda Casella/ NT Gent. Thursday, 01.06, 8 pm, HAU – Hebbel am Ufer 2.
🎭 Auf meinen Schultern – On my shoulders (Dance performance)
In his solo performance, Raphael Hillebrand attempts to bring his life experience into a form that the next generation and his own child can connect to – a sharing through dance, breaking, language, and performance. From 01 to 03.06, Ballhaus Naunynstraße - Naunynstraße 27, 10997 Berlin.
🎛️ Säule / Berghain (Party)
The Thursday parties are making a comeback at Säule, featuring an experimental sound and a certain stylistic openness, sometimes faster or rhythmically broken compared to what is happening on the other floors. The lineup includes DJs Different Shades, DINA, and Spekki Webu. Thursday - 01.06 - start 10 pm.
🇨🇩 Sonic Pluriverse Festival: Congorama (Concert & DJs)
Congorama is a musical exploration of three geographically distant places called “Congo”. It uncovers stories of history, culture, resistance, and musical collaborations from the Congo River to Congo Mirador in Venezuela and Congo Square in New Orleans. Highlight: Fatoumata Diawara. From 02.06 -various dates - HKW, John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10, 10557 Berlin.
🪩 Anacalypto and Friends (Party)
Groove and vibe to house and disco beats all night long with DJs Millos Kaiser, Anacalypto, Lipelis, and Vio PRG. Friday - 02.06 - 11 pm to 8 am. Fitzroy, S-Bahn Bogen 46, Holzmarktstraße 15, 10179 Berlin.
🎸 Down by the River Festival
The festival features 9 bands with sounds ranging from pop vibes to experimental madness, blending party and chill. With summer coming, the genre doors are wide open, and Berlin's musical underground is taking the lead. Saturday, 03.06. Doors open at 1 pm | Starts at 2 pm. ://about blank | Markgrafendamm 24, 10245 Berlin
🎤 Wu-Tang Clan & Nas (Concert)
This night promises to be epic. Monday - 05.06 - 7 pm. Parkbühne Wuhlheide, Berlin.
🛸 Cao Fei - Duotopia (Exhibition)
Cao Fei's work has been at the forefront of art, media, technology, and futurism for over two decades. She explores the intersection of everyday life through diverse mediums, delving into profound questions about human existence in our rapidly changing twenty-first century. Until 29.08. Sprüth Magers, Oranienburger Straße 18
10178 Berlin.
📷 RUSSELL JAMES (Exhibition)
The exhibition presents works by Australian photographer Russell James in fashion, celebrity, and beauty from the beginning of his career until now. Until 17.06. Camera Work Gallery, Kantstrasse 149 - 10623 Berlin.
📹 Isaac Julien: PLAYTIME (Exhibition)
British filmmaker and installation artist Isaac Julien presented the film Playtime for the first time in 2013. In it, he addresses a fundamental question: how can capital be visualized? Ten years later, this exhibition is presented for the first time in Germany. Until 10.07. PalaisPopulaire, Unter den Linden 5, 10117 Berlin.
Cena Berlim recommends
🎭 Bubble Sinn (Performance)
The multimedia performance, including dance, video, acting, sound, and electronic art, investigates the sense and/or senselessness of our life and work. With Zé de Paiva, Vinicius Giusti, Carla Bessa & Anete Colacioppo. From 01 to 03.06. Acker Stadt Palast, Ackerstraße 169/170, 10115 Berlin.
Beyond Berlin
🏛️ Wehrmühle Biesenthal
Explore folly's many facets at The Poet's Folly and the Sovereign's Hand exhibition. 35 international artists unravel its essence through different media, such as photography, performance, sculpture, painting, etcetera. Vernissage: Saturday - 03.06 - 12 pm, and Sunday - 04.06 - 4 pm.Wehrmühlenweg 8, 16359 Biesenthal. *This great tip is by our friend @awesomeberlin.
Save the Date
♫ Berlin Atonal Festival
Berlin Atonal returns to Kraftwerk Berlin in September 2023 for its first full edition in over four years. The festival expands in time to cover 11 days, including two full weekends, allowing a wider and fuller selection of newly commissioned works, world premiere performances, artistic interventions, and after-party programs. From Thursday, 07.09, to Sunday, 17.09. Kraftwerk Berlin.
Have a nice weekend!
Lalai & Mateus
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Uhu!