Modern Berlin. Twenties Berlin. Post-war Berlin. East Berlin. West Berlin. Avant-garde Berlin. Nazi Berlin. Startup Berlin. Just how much Berlin can you squeeze into one single evening? Quite a lot, it turns out. If you are wondering just how, may we suggest you head to iconic former West Berlin coffee house Café Kranzler, where on 01.12.2024 at 19h actress and all-round Berlin legend Katharina Thalbach will be performing a special reading of the 1931 book “Käsebier conquers the Kurfürstendamm”. Thalbach’s readings of Gabriele Tergit’s satirical novel – which is set in Weimar-era Berlin – have tickled audiences with their wit and absurdity since premiering at the Berlin Ensemble in 2023. Now she is bringing her trademark Berliner Schnauze to the famous red-and-white-fringed rotunda of Café Kranzler, which in pre-reunification days was the ultimate place to sip coffee and schmooze “im Westen”. Nowadays the midcentury pavilion survives as a retail, art and event space – operating since July 2024 under the banner of Kranzler X, a year-long initiative of creative collabs and one-off gatherings. After you have enjoyed Thalbach’s theatrical romp through Ku’damm, you can stick around for drinks and chats in the rotunda while looking out over the City West strip. It makes for an evening that is, without doubt, as Berlin as it gets. It’s Berlin distilled. Meta Berlin. A matryoshka of Berlins…
Text: Benji Haughton / Photos: Cansu Kuscu & Moritz Haase
Café Kranzler, Kurfürstendamm 20, 10719 Berlin–Charlottenburg; map
“Käsebier conquers the Kurfürstendamm” reading by Katharina Thalbach
01.12.2024 19h. Tickets available here.
@kranzlerx.berlin
@blnensemble
