April is here – spring is in full bloom, the art season has kicked off and there’s loads to do in the city! So what’s going on? This is the very best of April in Berlin:
Wednesday 02
Achtung Berlin Film Festival
Achtung, Berlin(ers)! This resident indie festival is keeping it local, showcasing more than 80 shorts, feature films and documentaries entirely shot and produced in the Hauptstadt.
- Various locations, through Apr 9, details.
Flight of the Canaries
In their long-awaited directorial debut, Berlin-based performance artist Bishop Black confronts the exhausting everyday experiences people of colour face in Western societies – caught between invisibility and hyper-visibility, false admiration and exclusion.
- Ballhaus Naunynstr, Naunynstr. 27, Kreuzberg, starts 20:00. Also on Apr 3-5, details.
Thursday 03
Ayanna Witter-Johnson
Best known for her work as a classically trained cellist and singer, British-Jamaican multi-instrumentalist and one-woman band Ayanna Witter-Johnson seamlessly crosses the boundaries between classical music and jazz, reggae and soul.
- Konzerthaus Berlin, Gendarmenmarkt 2, Mitte, doors at 19:00, details.
Brave New World
A dancefloor where everyone belongs: this inclusive party marks the unofficial closing of the Global Disability Summit, celebrating accessibility in club culture. With a focus on barrier-free partying, this minimal techno event raises awareness for inclusivity – because backing that thang up is for everyone!
- Ritter Butzke, Ritterstr. 24, Kreuzberg, starts 20:00, details.
Friday 04
Berlin New Stand-Up Award
Following several semi-final rounds at Berlin’s finest comedy clubs, all previous winners will go head-to-head in one final, spectacular stand-up showdown, battling it out for the title of best new comic in town.
- Heimathafen Neukölln, Karl-Marx-Str. 141, doors at 19:00, details.
Festival International New Drama
Schaubühne’s renowned FIND festival returns for its 25th anniversary edition, once again bringing together the most exciting names in contemporary theatre. This year’s artist in focus, Franco-Vietnamese author Caroline Guiela Nguyen, will present her latest play, Lacrima – a multilingual drama exploring the structural violence hidden behind Western luxury items.
- Schaubühne, Kurfürstendamm 153, through Apr 13, details.
Gegen Aliens
Buckle up, space sl*ts, the extraterrestrial overlords of Gegen Berlin invite you on a transcendental ride on the mothership. Suit up (or strip down) and prepare for some heavy-duty deep-space debauchery – beyond societal expectations and beyond the binary. Abduct me, daddy!
- RSO, Schnellerstr. 137, Treptow-Köpernick, starts 23:59, details.
Ramen Pop Up With Stephan Hentschel
Stephan Hentschel, former head chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant Cookies Cream, has teamed up with Food Technique Berlin for a three day ramen pop up. Hentschel has crafted a menu that is wholly vegetarian and vegan but has ditched the tofu and soya, instead whipping up dishes using ingredients such as white asparagus and fried zucchini flower. Reserve a seat in advance to avoid being disappointed.
- Chipperfield Kantine, Joachimstr. 11, Mitte, through Apr 6, details.
Saturday 05
Berliner Staudenmarkt
Are you really living in a Berlin flat if there aren’t multiple impractically large monsteras? This annual perennial market at the Botanical Garden is the perfect weekend destination for all interior design fanatics and (aspiring) plant parents.
- Botanischer Garten, Lichterfelde, through Apr 6, details.
Monday 07
Louise Morel in Conversation With Emilia Roig
Up until the age of 30, French author Louise Morel lived a different life – then decided to give up her job, ditch her boyfriend and embrace her true identity as a lesbian. Morel’s new book Lesbisch werden in zehn Schritten (“becoming a lesbian in ten steps”) is not just a retelling of her own coming out but an introduction into queer thinking and culture.
- Heimathafen Neukölln, Karl-Marx-Str. 141, doors at 19:15, details.
The Berliner presents Mark Reeder’s Mystery Movie Night
The last edition sold out in no time, so if you want to find out what film Reeder will pick next, don’t hesitate. The drill is the same: counterculture icon Reeder chooses a movie to screen to an intimate audience. The selection is a closely guarded secret that is only revealed as soon as the film starts. Reeder even kept it hidden from his wife, so there’s no chance of a leak here.
- Backhaus Projects, Weserstr. 168, Kreuzberg, starts 19:30, details.
Thursday 10
Spring Swap Party
Imagine going to a casual Thursday night cocktail party and coming home with a new favourite pair of jeans – that’s pretty much the concept here. Gather your closest circle and head over to The Base for a sustainable wardrobe revamp.
- The Base Berlin, Pestalozzistr. 5-8, Pankow, starts 20:00, details.
Lush Blast: Tasting the Untamed
Apart from the occasional encounter with a rabid, malnourished fox at Treptower Park, there really isn’t much wilderness left in our lives – or is there? Choreographers Alica Minar and Dorota Michalak explore the complex relationship between nature and art in this ferocious, untamed dance performance.
- Dock 11, Kastanienallee 79, starts 19:30. Also on Apr 11 and 12. Details.
Friday 11
Cabaret Chaotik
The big top is back! For its fourth edition, Cabaret Chaotik returns with a spectacle that blends vintage circus glamour with the avant-garde edge of modern cabaret. Expect dazzling performances, breathtaking acts, and a nod to both the past and future of the art form. This year, the magic unfolds over two nights – don’t miss it!
- Zirkus Mond, Lilli-Henoch-Str., through Apr 12, details.
Premiere: Warten auf Godot
Samuel Beckett’s timeless masterpiece about two apathetic guys in their twenties not really knowing what exactly they’re waiting for (relatable stuff) returns to the stage in a modern adaptation by acclaimed Belgian director Luk Perceval.
- Berliner Ensemble, Bertolt-Brecht-Platz 1, starts 19:30, also on Apr 18 and 19, details.
Festtage Staatsoper Berlin
This ten-day opera festival is a fixture of the city’s classical music scene. Highlights include a five-hour performance of Wagner’s monumental opera Parsifal and the grand concert on April 19, dedicated to legendary conductor Pierre Boulez.
- Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Mitte, through Apr 21, details.
Yoko Ono: Dream Together
In this interactive exhibition, multimedia artist, feminist icon and certified Dadaist queen Yoko Ono invites us to repair, heal and “dream together”. The show features some of Ono’s most important works from half a century of art and activism.
- Neue Nationalgalerie, Potsdamer Str. 50, Mitte, through Sep 2025, details.
Pop! Andy Warhol & The Velvet Underground
Aside from turning a perfunctory drawing of an overripe banana into one of the most iconic album covers of all time, visionary artist Andy Warhol might also have single-handedly invented modern pop culture as we know it. In this multimedia performance, five curators preparing for a Warhol exhibition attempt to provide a performative answer to the question of how pop became a cultural phenomenon in the 1960s and 1970s – and what exactly that damn banana had to do with it.
- English Theatre Berlin, Fidicinstr. 40, Friedrichshain, starts 20:00, details.
Convergence VII
As the name suggests, Lettrétage’s multidisciplinary event series is all about pushing and transcending boundaries between genres and art forms. Performances include (but aren’t limited to) music, poetry, art installations and film.
- Lettrétage, Veteranenstr. 21, Prenzlauer Berg, starts 20:00, details.
The Dark Rooms Hotel
This intense art exhibition transforms the dark corridors of an abandoned hotel into a blank canvas for 15 international artists, using light and sound installations to unveil stories that otherwise would remain hidden.
- Secret location, through May 11, details.
Saturday 12
Potsdamer Tulpenfest
If you haven’t been to Potsdam’s iconic Dutch Quarter yet, this weekend is the perfect opportunity to swap sneakers for clogs and visit the city’s annual tulip festival. Expect magnificent flowers, traditional Dutch folk music and stupendous amounts of lekker Gouda cheese.
- Holländisches Viertel Potsdam, through Apr 13, details.
Sunday 13
Naschmarkt International
Round off the weekend by feasting your way through some of the world’s most delicious desserts – sugar rush guaranteed. Over 30 vendors from different countries will offer everything from Turkish baklava to Japanese mochi. It’s giving gluttony.
- Markthalle Neun, Kreuzberg, starts 11:00, details.
Friday 18
Tommy Tiernan
You might know him better from his role as the put-upon dad in Derry Girls, but he’s actually a stellar stand-up comedian. Tommy Tiernan take the stereotype of the funny, charming Irishman and does absolutely nothing to challenge it. Instead, he pretty much confirms it as a scientific fact.
- Tempodrom, Möckernstr. 10, Freidrichshain, starts 20.00, details.
Saturday 19
Last Chance: Rinko Kawauchi
If you, too, need a little break from the collective meltdown that is life under late-stage capitalism, this is your sign to check out the serene world of Japanese multimedia artist Rinko Kawauchi. A freshly-cut apple on a wooden board, a beautiful garden at dawn – Kawauchi’s work is a gentle but much-needed reminder to appreciate the little things.
- Fotografiska, Oranienburger Str. 54, Mitte, through Apr 20, details.
Monday 21
Smut Slam
Is that a microphone in your pocket or are you just happy to be back at Smut Slam? Launched in 2011 by award-winning playwright, performer and dirty-storytelling diva Cameryn Moore, this raunchy open mic is a safe space for shameless silliness, uninhibited hedonism and radical self-acceptance.
- Crack Bellmer, Revaler Str. 99, Friedrichshain, doors at 19:00, details.
Wednesday 23
Sehsüchte Festival
Berlinale may have wrapped up, but film festival season is always going strong. Organised by Master’s students at the Film University Babelsberg, Sehsüchte Festival has been a cornerstone of Berlin’s indie filmmaking scene for 54 years, highlighting the voices of a new generation of audiovisual storytellers.
- Various locations, through Apr 27, details.
Thursday 24
ALFILM
Using cinema and art to dismantle racist stereotypes, this intimate indie festival brings the very best of contemporary Arab cinema to the Hauptstadt. The rich five-day programme also features panel discussions and an exclusive filmmaking class.
- Various locations, through Apr 30, details.
Friday 25
Talking About the Fire
As the old Billy Joel song goes, we didn’t start the fire – but why don’t we talk about it? Created by English and Irish theatremakers Chris Thorpe and Claire O’Reilly, this grim performance is equal parts play and conversation about the existential threat still posed by nuclear war.
- English Theatre Berlin, starts 20:00, also on Apr 26.
the land speaks to me of something shared
In a spellbinding cross-genre show, artist Anna Lublina and musician hoyah tap into the rhythms of their shared ancestry, combining tap dance, extended vocal techniques and live mixing to create a visceral exploration of Jewish-Muslim history.
- Ballhaus Ost, Pappelallee 15., Prenzlauer Berg, starts 19:00, also on Apr 26 and 27, details.
Critical Mass
See all these dedicated Berliners demanding a safer, cleaner and more bike-friendly city for all of us? Very thoughtful, very cutesy. Saddle up and join the ride! Very demure, very mindful.
- Mariannenplatz, starts 20:00, details.
Paradise Garage
Paying homage to the legendary New York nightclub, this colourful, sex-positive disco bash is a welcome reminder that clubbing in Berlin can be a helluva lot groovier than its reputation.
- OXI, Wiesenweg 1-4, Friedrichshain, starts 23:00, details.
Gayhane
Belly-dance the night away at Berlin’s biggest ‘QueerOriental’ party, serving up a sizzling mix of Arab, Turkish, Greek and Hebrew pop.
- SO36, Oranienstr. 190, Kreuzberg, starts 22:00, details.
Sun 27
Berliner Comicmesse
This intimate trade fair right by Tegeler See is the perfect place to connect with fellow comic book nerds and pick up some new reads. Vendors offer everything from rare collectibles to new releases and fan memorabilia.
- Tegeler Seeterrassen, Wilkestr. 1, Tegel, starts 10:00, details.
Girl, Show Me That Body (Of Work): FLINTA* Literature Night
Created by Romanian writer Ioana Cristina Casapu, this four-part event series aims to provide a platform for emerging FLINTA* authors using literature as a tool for sociopolitical activism and cultural exchange.
- Lettrétage, Veteranenstr. 21, Prenzlauer Berg, starts 20:00, details.
Friendly Flohmarkt
Is there a better feeling in the world than absolutely draining your bank account at a cute Berlin flea market on a lazy Sunday? No need to feel guilty – money is temporary, vintage fashion is forever.
- Jules B-Part am Gleisdreieck, Luckenwalder Str. 6b, Kreuzberg starts 11:00, details.
Premiere: Don Giovanni/Requiem
A sleazy fuckboy with questionable morals causes mayhem in the lives of his countless dates – Mozart’s Don Giovanni returns to Berlin, where he undoubtedly belongs. Once hailed as the “opera of all operas”, the wild tragicomedy tells the story of a reckless womaniser and the justice he faces after killing his crush’s dad. RIP Mozart, you would’ve loved reality TV.
- Schillertheater, Bismarckstr. 110, starts 18:00, details.
Wed 30
BODIES Anniversary (36 Hours)
Rooted in ancient pagan tradition, Walpurgisnacht is a night when spirits roam free, witches gather on mountaintops and hedonistic revellers frolic around the fire until sunrise. Head over to urban oasis Aeden for a ritualistic techno and house party featuring renowned DJs Paraçek, ALCATRAZ and Nina Farrina, among others.
- Aeden, Schleusenufer 3, Kreuzberg, starts 22:00, details.
