The Volksbühne at Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz is getting a new artistic director, Matthias Lilienthal, and he’s got a Bad idea for his inauguration. Literally.
Lilienthal, who had previously worked at the venue and was the director of HAU for some time, plans to erect a 25-metre-long swimming pool in front of the theatre. From August 7 until the beginning of October, you’ll be able to splash around on Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz for absolutely free, no ID required.
The Volksbühne will temporarily change its name to Volksbad as bathers take over the area in front of the socialist-classical edifice. Lilienthal, who believes that “splashing each other with water can take on a theatrical quality”, wants to draw attention to Berlin’s crumbling infrastructure.
The pool, complete with a fries stall, is meant to signal a new beginning for the Volksbühne and act as a warm welcome to Berlin’s newcomers and immigrants and as a “hello” sent out to the neighbourhood. Florentina Holzinger’s Ophelia’s Got Talent, which featured performers swimming in water basins inside the Volksbühne, served as Lilienthal’s inspiration for the Volksbad. Holzinger and her team will return to mark the new Volksbühne’s first season.
