As the world spins dangerously forward, where do we find the balance between hope and pleasure? With Goodbye Berlin, choreographer and director Constanza Macras and her company DorkyPark pose this question by drawing chilling parallels between the turbulent Germany of the Weimar Republic and our present moment.
The piece draws inspiration from Christopher Isherwood’s semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin, Kate Elswit’s essay Watching Weimar Dance, and the legacy of pioneering dancers of the era such as Kurt Jooss and Valeska Gert. From these sources, Macras confronts crushing contradictions, paradoxes and apocalyptic visions with the delicious, unapologetic forms of pure spectacle.
Rituals of Ruin and Moral Interrogation
Goodbye Berlin explores a cabaret universe that appears as a nightmarish hall of mirrors reflecting political and social anxieties. This space hosts destructive and counter-cultural rituals, rituals that are also part of our artistic repertoire and staged heritage.
The performance hurls burning questions at the audience: Do these rituals merely allow us to suspend our anxieties about the rise of reactionary politics in a pleasant haze of amusement? Or can they truly relieve the depressive paralysis of inaction and spark mobilisation against the forces that are closing in?
Is pleasure still possible, not instead of hope, but alongside it?
With its intoxicating aesthetic that courts ecstasy and flirts with death, Goodbye Berlin promises a journey through a universe of joyful immorality.
Performance Information Summary
Concept, Direction & Choreography: Constanza Macras
Company: DorkyPark
Venue: Große Bühne (Main Stage)
Dates: 29 November, 13 December, 23 December 2025 and 3 January 2026
