cinalia

Berlin · Charlottenburg

Schaubühne

A Bauhaus-era cinema on the Kurfürstendamm, running German theatre's most exported repertoire

Theatre Berlin, Charlottenburg€€€€

Thomas Ostermeier's Ibsen and Shakespeare productions, with English surtitles most nights

Erich Mendelsohn built it as a cinema in 1928, the theatre took it over in 1981 and the interior can be reconfigured into three separate stages or one long room. Under Thomas Ostermeier it became the German theatre most often invited abroad, with a repertoire of Ibsen, Shakespeare and new writing performed at a physical intensity that surprises visitors expecting something stately.

A large proportion of performances carry English surtitles, which are marked clearly in the programme and make this the most accessible serious theatre in the city for anyone who does not speak German.

The detail

Good to know

Building
Mendelsohn cinema, 1928
Theatre since
1981
Surtitles
English on many performances
Under 30
Reduced tickets at most performances