Shakespeare in the Park

A few weeks ago I blogged about the latest twist in the story of the Stadtschloss. In the wake of the announcement that Berlin's Schlossplatz will remain empty till at least 2014, the earliest date when work on the new Humboldtforum can begin, came ingenious proposals for using the space in the meantime.

Enter the Shakespeare Company, a Berlin theater group with one of the most creative ideas that have come up. The group is lobbying to bring a replica of the historic Globe Theater to the Schlossplatz. "We have the theater, we have the team, we have the concept, and we have the space. All we need now is the permission," says Christian Leonard, the group's artistic director.

The idea is not as far-fetched as it might seem. A replica of the Globe Theater is already waiting in the wings. Set designers at the Babelsburg studios created it for the new film "Anonymous," shot just weeks ago, starring Vanessa Redrave and Rhys Ifans, and directed by Roland Emmerich (remember "Independence Day"?)

The Shakespeare Company's idea is a three-season run, from 2011-2013. Since the replica, seating about 750 people, is already complete and needs only to be dismantled, transported from Babelsburg, then reassembled, costs should not exceed a million EUR. The group will not expect public funding; they believe they can raise sufficient funds from sponsors and supporters. They could set the ball rolling with an opening production in the studios as early as September.

The idea of combining a reproduction of the venerable London theater with the popular New York summer tradition of Shakespeare in the Park and bringing it to the site of Berlin's Stadtschloss is nothing short of brilliant. I'm rooting for the Shakespeare Company!

Pictures are Souls

"I don't have any pictures of me as a child, nor of my parents: nothing that can remind me of my childhood," says Saudi Arabian artist Ahmed Mater.  "To take a picture was considered to be against religion. People thought pictures were souls." 

Grey Borders
Mater and eleven other young artists from Saudi Arabia are presenting their work -- photographs, videos, drawings and installations -- in an exhibition called Grey Borders/Grey Frontiers, part of the sixth Berlin Biennale. There are two good reasons to stop by: one, this is the first exhibition of contemporary art from Saudi Arabia ever held in Germany; and two, it gives us a chance to poke around the newly opened Soho House, Berlin.

We are faceless
Organized by "Edge of Arabia," a grassroots initiative founded by British and Saudi artists, the exhibition challenges powerful cultural taboos. Images are deeply suspect in Saudi Arabia -- many are banned, others scrutinized and sanitized. There are practically no galleries, museums or art books, and its capital Riad, with four million inhabitants, has nary a cinema house.  Jowhara Alsaud's series of line drawings entitled "Out of Line" applies the language of censorship to her personal photographs. In the pop-art style drawings derived from photographs, Alsaud erases all facial features. "We don't know how to deal with photographs in Saudi Arabia, " she says. "Of course, we all keep pictures of family and friends at home, but when we go outdoors, we are faceless."

The Soho House

While at the exhibition, take time to explore the Soho House, Berlin, modeled on the exclusive establishments in London's Soho and New York's Manhattan districts. 

The building on Torstrasse 1 (Berlin, Mitte) was a Jewish-owned department store in the 1920s. Seized by the Nazis, it was converted into the headquarters of the Hitler Youth in the early 1940s.  Renamed the House of Unity in postwar Berlin, it served as the seat of the East German Communist party from 1946-56, and later housed the East German Communist archives. For the past twelve years it has remained empty and in a state of rampant decay.

Now the owners of Soho House, London, have converted Torstrasse 1 into a swanky members-only hotel, retaining striking Communist-era features: the concrete, industrial look, metal staircase and metal filing cabinets in the reception area. Don't miss the Damien Hirst artwork on the wall, which you might mistake for graffiti if you overlook the scrawling signature.

"Grey Borders/Grey Frontiers" is at Soho House, Torstrasse 1, Berlin (U Bahnhof, Rosenthaler Platz). and is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00-18:00. Entrance is free. The exhibition runs till July 18. More information is at www.edgeofarabia.com

For information about Soho House, go to www.sohohouseberlin.com