Christine Matschke
Dance journalist
The second edition of the festival Das Ost-West-Ding (The East West Thing) will be instilling a breath of fresh air into the relationship between German-German lifestyles. In and around the Sophiensæle, in the broadest sense of the word, the festival will take a humorous look at what still separates East and West from each other today. In an alternative (city) tour of hannsjana, for example, a pack of performers dressed as bears exposes themselves to an unknown past along the formerly divided Brunnenstrasse. Those born after the fall of the Berlin Wall utilize their socialization, including latent views of the “other“ Germans, to sing and dance “critical west-ness” and “eastern rage“ from their souls. The performance „POSTOST 2090“ by Rike Flämig, Anna Hentschel and Zwoisy Mears-Clarke is also likely to have a cathartic effect. Their “Ossifuturistic” retrospective celebrates 100 years of successfully implemented Peaceful Revolution beforehand. The festival will open at the Freilichtbühne Weißensee with a musical and literary evening by the two greats of the Berlin queer scene, Tucké Royale and Kaey, both of whom hail from Saxony-Anhalt. The reading and publication of „Labor 89“ by Peggy Piesche and guests will also explore the boundaries of the intersectional.