Photo courtesy of Kinder Ballett Kompanie Berlin
Radialsystem hosts the Israeli-German Festival (Oct 12-18 at Radialsystem V and English Theatre Berlin)
If Berlin is more obsessed than most cities with the ways in which the past imprints the present, this is perhaps best embodied in the collective experiences of Jews living in Berlin. Enter ID Festival (Israelisch-deutsches Festival), an annual series of cultural events started in 2014 to highlight the city’s growing Israeli community. Does the fest normalise Israeli migration to Germany or accentuate it as a historical irony? You can ponder that yourself at the inaugural event: Shabbat Olam haBah (Oct 12, 19:00) is announced as an “immersive, multi-sensory” dinner and ceremony intended to give us a transformative foretaste of utopia. Other program highlights include The Land of Milk(y) and Honey? (Oct 14, 18:00 and 25-27, 20:00), a documentary theatre work (a production of English Theater Berlin at Radialsystem, free entrance) exploring the diversity of Israelis living here, and Cinderella, a balletic opera composed by child prodigy Alma Deutscher, a double bill with The Nutcracker , both choreographed by the Berlin Staatsballett’s David Simic (Oct 13, 15:00 and 14, 19:00). The festival closes with a tribute to Kurt Weil’s wife Lotte (photo) through a reading of a correspondance with her famous husband, interspersed with Weil’s songs.
ID Festival, Oct 12-18 | Radialsystem V and English Theatre Berlin, Kreuzberg, see idfestival.de for full programme
