Berliner Ensemble — Attraction in Berlin

My partner and I purchased 2 balcony tickets for a recent performance of Barry Kosky's Threepenny Opera (Die Dreigroschenoper) and we couldn't have been more excited when we arrived at the theatre.

As we entered the glaringly bright foyer we began to feel slightly uncomfortable amidst a conservative older crowd. We tentatively approached a stiff blonde usher standing on the stairs and my partner used his best German to ask if we were allowed to take drinks into the theatre. The usher looked us up and down, smirked at us and replied in her driest English "if you have tickets to the show". Ummm okaaaay... was she implying that we were about to try and sneak in without them? Rude!!

Taken aback by her foul demeanour we decided to skip the drinks and get some fresh air. When the bell rang we tactically avoided the first usher and went to scan our tickets with the smiley brunette on the other side but suddenly, to our surprise, our tickets wouldn't scan! We looked noticeably panicked but the usher was friendly and calm and quickly concluded that we must be at the wrong show. She kindly asked to check our email and discovered that we were booked in for the following night. Naturally we felt like clowns but this usher was so sweet, we couldn't help but have a laugh together before sheepishly walking back out the door.

When we came back the following night we were told that we could not in fact take our drinks from the bar into the theatre... sooooooooo I have no idea what that first usher was on about but she certainly didn't have a grasp of the facts let alone make us feel welcome. My partners German isn't that bad and wearing big earrings, a black leather jacket and Adidas kicks to the theatre wasn't illegal last time I checked.. in fact Id say we looked as trendy as Dinah Ehm's costume designs in the INCREDIBLE production that we were blessed to attend.

The show was absolute perfection and we definitely felt a sense of awe in that iconic neo-baroque theatre with its excellent acoustic quality and world class technical finishings.

The live band was phenomenal. The entire cast had strikingly powerful voices and remarkable acting chops. It was such a world class production that even The President of Germany was in attendance the night we went.

Despite the rancid attitude that we initially received from that sad, sourpuss of an usher, we had a wonderful experience and will definitely be going back...

I personally really like this place and its performances but since it is a theatre house, I would also review it on its ticket service. I personally found it is a little bit problematic when I purchase on their website. For example, I checked its released schedule at the beginning of December for January, and if I checked the schedule some days later, some plays (such as Dreigroschenoper) appeared as sold-out for January but they were not on the plan when I checked the schedule previously (not substitute plays). I do not know how they organised their ticket preview. The information on their website is also confusing, you may see "Ausverkauft, ggf. Restkarte an der Abendkasse" which I may give a try there if one show is sold-out as in other performing houses, but I was told that the information was misleading and it doesn't mean you have any chance to get a remained ticket (such as at Berliner Philharmonie). Otherwise the theatre is just beautiful but the seats are so narrow and the gradients are not good enough for people sitting behind to clearly...

It’s a rare thing to get to see a play in one of the original spaces used by the playwright. Attending a performance at the Berliner Ensemble was simultaneously completely modern while like also stepping into a Time Machine. It’s easy to imagine Brecht standing in the beautiful historic auditorium giving instructions to actors onstage.

But the production of Three Penny Opera was relevant and modern and dare I say very Berlin. Lots of actors in black clothes, an amazing angular steel set and great lighting which was at times stark. It was perfect!

Highly recommend attending any performance for a legitimate slice of modern...