Three protagonists each invite us to join them on their unique journey down memory lane at the Grosse Schauspielhaus in Berlin. First time visitor Walter Schatz accompanies us through the impressive foyers and the colossal auditorium; celebrated singer Fritzi Massary offers a peek into the cosmos of a star; young lighting technician Otto Kempowski guides us through the fascinating world of theatre engineering. Thus we peer through a digital window to visit the famous theatre’s past and explore its art and architecture spatially in the here and now.

In 1919, theatre impresario Max Reinhardt and architect Hans Poelzig created one of the most visionary theatres of the 20th century in the heart of Berlin. Its expressionistic design, pioneering theatre technology and an innovative stage area made for an iconic piece of architecture, fondly referred to as the “dripstone cave”. Throughout the Golden Twenties theatre director Erik Charell’s musical revues brought the glamour of Broadway to Berlin.

Though the building is no more, a virtual reality experience allows us to visit Berlin’s bygone theatre days at the Große Schauspielhaus in 1927. A special feature of this project: historic artefacts from the Stadtmuseum Berlin and other archives are incorporated into the virtual narrative. Digital exhibits including posters, props, technical apparatus tacitly broaden our knowledge.

The unique architecture provides a traversable exhibition space that comes alive through our protagonists.

DTHG 2021 - Im/material Theatre Spaces
A project by digital.DTHG (Commission for Digitality and New Technologies of the German Theatre Technical Society) and the Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin.
Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, 2019-2021. The project is based on the concept "One Show - Ten Perspectives", by Rebecca Eisele, Elena Kunau, Dominique Lauvernier and Lea Schorling.

Project Team digital.DTHG

Project Management: Pablo Dornhege, Franziska Ritter
3D Art & Reconstruction: Sascha Sigl, Pablo Dornhege
Development: Lea Schorling, Sascha Sigl
Script: Ralph Tharayil
Sound: Lorenz Fischer
Curation: Franziska Ritter, Rebecca Eisele
Illustration: Regina Hapel, Pablo Dornhege
Graphic Design: Maria Bürger
Subtitles: Julie Kamprath
Controlling: DTHG GmbH, Hubert Eckart

Project Team Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin

General Director: Berndt Schmidt
Project Management: Guido Herrmann
Technical Director: Thomas Herda
Archive: Gero Konietzko
Script Editing: Johanna-Friederike Krüger
Project Coordination: Nora Botzenhardt

Voice Actors / Musicians

Narrator: Roman Knižka
Walter: Sven Brieger
Fritzi: Sabine Arnhold
Otto: Max Schimmelpfennig
Supporting Roles: Florian Krüger-Shantin, Heide Domanowski, Jasper Domanowski, Johanna-Friederike Krüger
Violin: David Wedel
Piano: Andreas Wenske

Partner Archives:
Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin - Theatersammlung, Theatertechnisches Kabinett der Oper Leipzig, Architekturmuseum der TU Berlin, Stiftung Technikmuseum Berlin

Opening Night at the Großen Schauspielhaus - Berlin 1927 screenshots