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| Shakespeare finds a summer backdrop in Berlin | Shakespeare finds a summer backdrop in Berlin |
| (4 months later) | |
| It is dusk in Görlitzer Park and a brawny King Henry VIII is standing at the top of a giant metal slide, wearing just his crown, a giant medallion and skimpy white leggings. | It is dusk in Görlitzer Park and a brawny King Henry VIII is standing at the top of a giant metal slide, wearing just his crown, a giant medallion and skimpy white leggings. |
| Down below an audience of about 400 people are laughing at the free spectacle, part of Berlin's version of Shakespeare in the Park. | Down below an audience of about 400 people are laughing at the free spectacle, part of Berlin's version of Shakespeare in the Park. |
| It's an interesting choice of venue for the Bard. The sprawling, scruffy park has long attracted its own cast of local characters, from punks, drug dealers and students to Turkish families who gather here to grill and picnic. | It's an interesting choice of venue for the Bard. The sprawling, scruffy park has long attracted its own cast of local characters, from punks, drug dealers and students to Turkish families who gather here to grill and picnic. |
| It is in the heart of the alternative scene, multi-ethnic Kreuzberg, an increasingly trendy district in the throes of gentrification. Soaring rents and a proliferation of bars and hostels catering to tourists have given rise to resentment in some quarters. | It is in the heart of the alternative scene, multi-ethnic Kreuzberg, an increasingly trendy district in the throes of gentrification. Soaring rents and a proliferation of bars and hostels catering to tourists have given rise to resentment in some quarters. |
| So when hordes of Shakespeare enthusiasts appeared in their midst last summer, not everyone in the park laid out the welcome mat. | So when hordes of Shakespeare enthusiasts appeared in their midst last summer, not everyone in the park laid out the welcome mat. |
| A group of punks started to hurl abuse during the performance of Henry IV, feeling that their space was being invaded. | A group of punks started to hurl abuse during the performance of Henry IV, feeling that their space was being invaded. |
| "We felt like the enemy," said Maxwell Flaum, an American actor who is one of the founders of Shakespeare im Park Berlin. "We felt like we were the gentrifiers." | "We felt like the enemy," said Maxwell Flaum, an American actor who is one of the founders of Shakespeare im Park Berlin. "We felt like we were the gentrifiers." |
| This year the company has taken two Shakespeare-attributed texts, All Is True and The Book of Sir Thomas More, as well as More's Utopia, as their source material. The result, Utopia™ – Where All is True, is a bawdy farce that includes rebellion, religious zealotry, synth pop and show tunes and is played by actors in outlandish costumes, who switch effortlessly between English and German. | This year the company has taken two Shakespeare-attributed texts, All Is True and The Book of Sir Thomas More, as well as More's Utopia, as their source material. The result, Utopia™ – Where All is True, is a bawdy farce that includes rebellion, religious zealotry, synth pop and show tunes and is played by actors in outlandish costumes, who switch effortlessly between English and German. |
| After last year's troubles, the troupe consulted park regulars, handing out flyers and reassuring them it was only a temporary intrusion. They also made sure the bilingual show, which plays until 19 August, has even more German than English this year. | After last year's troubles, the troupe consulted park regulars, handing out flyers and reassuring them it was only a temporary intrusion. They also made sure the bilingual show, which plays until 19 August, has even more German than English this year. |
| It seems to have worked. "We've developed some nice relationships with the people who occupy the spaces, and at this point they look upon us as regulars," says Flaum. | It seems to have worked. "We've developed some nice relationships with the people who occupy the spaces, and at this point they look upon us as regulars," says Flaum. |
| As well as the diverse cast of locals, Görlitzer Park, laid out on the site of a former train station, has offered the company a great backdrop for its constantly moving play. "The park is full of all these amazing spaces and structures," says actor Brandon Woolf, another of the founders. The performers use an iron trellis, a footbridge and concrete pipes as props and they lead the audience up and down ravines, and into sand pits and playgrounds. | As well as the diverse cast of locals, Görlitzer Park, laid out on the site of a former train station, has offered the company a great backdrop for its constantly moving play. "The park is full of all these amazing spaces and structures," says actor Brandon Woolf, another of the founders. The performers use an iron trellis, a footbridge and concrete pipes as props and they lead the audience up and down ravines, and into sand pits and playgrounds. |
| Imgard and Dieter, a pensioner couple who live in the well-to-do suburb of Zehlendorf and had never been to Görlitzer Park before, are hugely enthusiastic about the experience. "The players were excellent and we loved the costumes," Imgard said. "It was all simply wonderful." | Imgard and Dieter, a pensioner couple who live in the well-to-do suburb of Zehlendorf and had never been to Görlitzer Park before, are hugely enthusiastic about the experience. "The players were excellent and we loved the costumes," Imgard said. "It was all simply wonderful." |
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