Immersion

Immersion 2020

Gropius Bau

Thomas Oberender im Gespräch mit Mansour Ciss Kanakassy

Thomas Oberender in conversation with Mansour Ciss Kanakassy

Festivals & Programme Series

Upcoming

The Berliner Festspiele organise a range of festivals and art exhibitions, concerts, dance and theatre performances, readings, lectures, debates and much more throughout the year. These events are presented at a range of locations across Berlin but are concentrated primarily at their own two venues: the Gropius Bau and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.

Berliner Festspiele

The Berliner Festspiele programme archive includes all events from 2004 onwards.

The archive pages of the current festivals and programme series can be found in the menu of the respective festival under Programme/Archive.

Berliner Festspiele&rsquo;s own events, guest events and past festivals and programme series are listed on this page.

2020

The Berliner Festspiele&rsquo;s programme series &ldquo;Immersion&rdquo; presented the work of artists who transcended the conventional oppositions between work and viewer, stage and auditorium, object and observer.

Archiv

programm

Programme

Berliner Festspiele linksbündig_neu

Fallback-Bild Berliner Festspiele

In accordance with the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC), you must consent to the use and storage of cookies when you visit our website. In addition to the strictly necessary, functional cookies, we recommend that you also activate further cookies in order to be able to use all the functions on our website.

furtherInformation

cookieConsent

Berliner Festspiele 75

ctas0

ctas

bfs26_festspielgeschichten_teaser

smartInfo

In our Festspiele Stories series, we highlight some of the many facets of the 75-year history of the Berliner Festspiele. Explore our Media Library for behind-the-scenes insights, as well as new and historical perspectives and personal recollections connected to the history of the Berliner Festspiele.

Festspiele Stories

visibility

bfs26_jubilaeum_text_3_2

Theatertreffen-Blog Header

In 2026 the Berliner Festspiele celebrate their 75th anniversary. A selection of events programmed throughout the entire year engage take the anniversary as their theme or mark the occasion with works at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, the Gropius Bau, the Philharmonie, on Berlin’s Ringbahn and at other locations in the city. Outstanding international that liberal societies and their cultural institutions face in a new, multipolar world order. artists such as Marina Abramović, Gabriele St&ouml;tzer and Akira Takayama will set the agenda both thematically and aesthetically. Entitled “Die gro&szlig;e Unordnung” (The Great Disorder), the four-day focus Reflexes &amp; Reflections will also enquire about the challenges.

75 Years of the Berliner Festspiele

0111

teasers

ctaButton

teasers0

The massacre, hostage-taking and rocket attacks by Hamas have shaken us deeply. The grue-some attack on Israel on 7&nbsp;October left us stunned and initially lost for words.

The Berliner Festspiele on Current Events in Israel, Gaza and Germany

teasers1

With this letter of intent, we, the signing cultural organizations, express our intention to welcome, host and stage Ukrainian theatre artists in our venues, to make Ukrainian dramatic work visible to the European community.

Support of the Ukrainian Cultural Scene

More Berliner Festspiele

Key Visual Musikfest Berlin 2026

Musikfest Berlin sw

011112

Major Orchestras and Vocal Ensembles as Guests in Berlin

011118

slides

Fallback-Bild Tanztreffen der Jugend

slides0

More than 60 productions from across Germany applied to take part in this year’s Tanztreffen der Jugend. After the expert jury had the opportunity to view the shortlisted works live, the jurors selected 10&nbsp;productions for the final programme. The programme schedule has been published, advance ticket sales are open.

Tanztreffen der Jugend

Fallback-Bild Performing Arts Season

slides1

The exploration of myths and rituals shapes the fourth edition of the Performing Arts Season with works by Marina Abramović, Mario Banushi, Marie Chouinard, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker / Rosas, Ictus, Bl!ndman, Dumb Type, Damien Jalet / Kohei Nawa and Gisèle Vienne. The programme is published and ticket sales are on.

Performing Arts Season

tt26_A_Year_without_Summer_c_Nicole_Marianna_Wytyczak

slides2

With A Year without Summer by Florentina Holzinger, the last of the 10 most remarkable productions selected for Theatertreffen 2026 will be presented this autumn. The performances will take place at the Volksb&uuml;hne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz. Remaining tickets may be available at the box office.

A Year without Summer

Fallback-Bild Jazzfest Berlin

slides3

In 2026, the line-up welcomes audiences to make new discoveries and features outstanding representatives from a variety of scenes, spanning a highly diverse cultural and musical landscape. At the same time, it celebrates two pioneering voices – Anthony Braxton and Alexander von Schlippenbach – who have shaped the global scene for decades. The programme will be published on 10&nbsp;September, advance ticket sales start on 17&nbsp;September.

Jazzfest Berlin

bfs26_berlinale

0117

The Berlinale as a guest at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

76th Berlin International Film Festival

bfs25_internationales_literaturfestival_berlin

0118

as a guest at Haus der Berliner Festspiele

25th international literature festival berlin

Performing Arts Season_neu

pas25_ultimo_helecho_c_nina_laisne_05

0119

Nina Laisné and François Chaignaud with Nadia Larcher

Último helecho

bfs26_focus_japan

An Initiative of the Berliner Festspiele 2026/27

As part of their anniversary season, the Berliner Festspiele in partnership with the Japanese-German Center Berlin dedicate a special focus to performative and musical arts from Japan, featuring works by the Kanze Noh Theater, Damien Jalet / Kohei Nawa, Akira Takayama, Dumb Type and the Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet. Through contributions to the programmes of Musikfest Berlin, the Performing Arts Season, Jazzfest Berlin and MaerzMusik, alongside an original project unfolding across the city, this initiative draws on a long history of exchange and resonance between the Berliner Festspiele and artistic expressions of Japanese culture.

Focus Japan

bfs26_jubiläum_plakat_stoetzer

bfs26_internationales_literaturfestival_berlin

International Literature Festival Berlin

gb24_braetsch_baubau_teaser

Since 14 March 2026Playing, laughing, making noise, letting off steam, doing nothing – all in an exhibition venue! With BAUBAU, the artist Kerstin Br&auml;tsch designed an&nbsp;admission-free play space for kids, where more is allowed than forbidden. On Gropius Bau’s ground floor, colourful wallpapers, structures, objects and open-ended material called “loose parts” configure flexible spaces that are shaped by children’s activities.

BAUBAU

gb26_gabriele_stoetzer_ausloeschung_1983_ret_a1_isov2_quadrat

19 June to 6 December 2026For more than five decades, Gabriele St&ouml;tzer has been grappling with questions of justice, gender and self-determination. Her own body often plays a central role in her work – not as an object, but as a site of resistance and feminist self-assertion. Dabei sein und nicht schweigen is the artist’s largest institutional solo exhibition to date.

Gabriele St&ouml;tzer: Dabei sein und nicht schweigen

gb26_vlassis_caniaris_kind_quadrat

10&nbsp;September&nbsp;2026 to 17&nbsp;January&nbsp;2027Nowhere were the social and cultural changes of 1960s and 1970s West Germany more powerfully manifest than in Berlin’s Kreuzberg neighbourhood. The group exhibition focuses on the diverse and largely overlooked cultural production on the topic of labour migration and on how artists in the neighbourhood have responded to the tensions and issues of their time.

Kreuzberg: Kunst und Migration seit 1960

gb25_diane_arbus_lady_bartender_at_home_with_a_souvenir dog_new_orleans_la_1964

Widely regarded as one of the most original and influential artists of the 20th&nbsp;century, Diane Arbus’ bold black-and-white photographs demolish aesthetic conventions and upend all certainties. With Diane Arbus: Konstellationen, Gropius Bau presents the most comprehensive exhibition of her work to date. Featuring 454&nbsp;prints, many of them shown here for the first time, Konstellationen offers new perspectives on Arbus’ iconic images and the wide range of her portraiture.

Diane Arbus: Konstellationen

gb25_vaginal_davis_key_visual_quadratisch

Marking twenty years since artist, writer and performer Vaginal Davis made Berlin her home, Gropius Bau presents the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work in Germany. In her expansive oeuvre, punk meets glamour, queer activism meets Black counter-culture and resistance meets desire. Fabelhaftes Produkt offers an overview of Davis’ practice and artistic collaborations.

Vaginal Davis:&nbsp;Fabelhaftes Produkt

gb24_braetsch_baubau_quadratisch

teasers2

A Play Space for Kids

Playing, laughing, making noise, letting off steam, doing nothing – all in an exhibition venue! With BAUBAU, the artist Kerstin Br&auml;tsch designed an&nbsp;admission-free play space for kids, where more is allowed than forbidden. On Gropius Bau’s ground floor, colourful wallpapers, structures, objects and open-ended material called “loose parts” configure flexible spaces that are shaped by children’s activities.

GB25_Lewis_A Plot, A Scandal_quadratisch

teasers3

Ligia Lewis is a central figure in redefining performance within the context of the visual arts. In her multifaceted practice, she combines performance, live installation and film. &nbsp;From autumn 2025, Gropius Bau presents I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, the artist and choreographer’s most comprehensive solo exhibition to date. It brings together new and existing works that explore themes of race, gender, violence and resistance.

Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…

Current and Upcoming Exhibitions at the Gropius&nbsp;Bau

mgb11_p_02_photovoltaikanlage_querformat

We have been following EMAS guidelines for sustainable environmental performance since 2013. Find out more about our goals and the measures that we have already taken on the website of our umbrella organisation.

Sustainable Environmental Performance

bfs24_shield_and_shine_3_2

Active since 2018, the national network DIE VIELEN formulates clear positions against enmity, right-wing extremism and attacks against artistic freedom. With the campaign “SHIELD &amp; SHINE”, the alliance is calling out to take an even stronger stance in support of a plural, democratic orientation of the world.

SHIELD &amp; SHINE – We Are Many

<h3>Sustainable Environmental Performance</h3>We have been following EMAS guidelines for sustainable environmental performance since 2013. Find out more about our goals and the measures that we have already taken on the website of our umbrella organisation.

2026 feiern die Berliner Festspiele ihr 75-j&auml;hriges Bestehen. &Uuml;ber das gesamte Jahr verteilt thematisieren ausgew&auml;hlte Programmpunkte dieses Jubil&auml;um oder nehmen es zum Anlass f&uuml;r Veranstaltungen im Haus der Berliner Festspiele, im Gropius Bau, in der Philharmonie, auf der Berliner Ringbahn und an anderen Orten in der Stadt. International herausragende K&uuml;nstler*innen wie Marina Abramović, Gabriele St&ouml;tzer und Akira Takayama setzen dabei inhaltliche wie &auml;sthetische Akzente. Unter dem Titel Die gro&szlig;e Unordnung fragen die Thementage Reflexe &amp; Reflexionen zugleich nach den Herausforderungen einer neuen, multipolaren Weltordnung f&uuml;r liberale Gesellschaften und ihre Kulturinstitutionen.

75 Jahre Berliner Festspiele

Die Berliner Festspiele richten in ihrem Jubil&auml;umsjahr in Partnerschaft mit dem Japanisch-Deutschen Zentrum Berlin einen besonderen Fokus auf performative und musikalische K&uuml;nste aus Japan – u. a. mit Werken des Kanze Nō Theaters, von Damien Jalet / Kohei Nawa, Akira Takayama, Dumb Type und des Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintets.

Focus Japan

All year round, Berliner Festspiele host a multitude of festivals, exhibitions and individual events in two houses – the Haus der Berliner Festspiele at Schaperstra&szlig;e and the Gropius Bau near Potsdamer Platz – and other venues in the city.

The Berliner Festspiele

what_if_berlin

bfs26_ringbahn_mit_stationen

The Ringbahn as a stage for 27&nbsp;forgotten visions of the future

What If Berlin

TT2025_Berliner Festspiele_Panel_Und_jetzt_c_Fabian_Schellhorn_anschnitt_teaser_10_inszenierungen

On 13 January, the Theatertreffen’s jury of critics announced their selection of the 10 most remarkable productions for the 2026 Theatertreffen at a press conference. Our congratulations go to the nominated production teams and all participants!

The 10 Most Remarkable Productions 2026

In a lecture at the Performing Arts Season 2025/26, Gisèle Vienne offered insights into the significance of dolls in her work. Interviews, essays, and videos from previous editions of the Performing Arts Season, including contributions by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Akram Khan and Philippe Quesne, are still available in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.

Through diverse choreographies and forms of expression in contemporary and urban dance, young dancers explored what constitutes their own identity and how it asserts itself in interaction with others. The recordings of the productions invited to the Tanztreffen der Jugend 20245 are available in the media library.&nbsp;

Tanztreffen der Jugend 2025

In conversation with music journalist Peter Margasak and Nadin Deventer, artistic director of Jazzfest Berlin, trumpeter and composer Wadada Leo Smith looks back on more than half a century of “Creative Music”. Also in the Media Library: two films invite viewers behind the scenes of the Jazzfest Community Film Lab.

Fallback-Bild MaerzMusik

Find out more about MaerzMusik: recap videos, talks, interviews and portraits have been published in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.

MaerzMusik

Fallback-Bild Theatertreffen

slides4

3sat produces the format Starke St&uuml;cke, featuring high‑quality television recordings of four productions invited to the 2026 Theatertreffen. Together with discussions and behind the scenes, they are available in the Berliner Festspiele Mediathek.

Theatertreffen 2026

Fallback-Bild Reflexe_Reflexionen

slides5

The Great Disorder: The panels and discussions of the third edition of Reflexes &amp; Reflections are published in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library.

Reflexes &amp; Reflections 2026

Fallback-Bild Theatertreffen der Jugend

slides6

At the heart of the productions are current crises, social phenomena, and questions of power and powerlessness. The works respond to the anxieties of the present by articulating demands for the future. The productions and the opening event are available in the media library.

Theatertreffen der Jugend 2026

Fallback-Bild Musikfest Berlin

slides7

Discover background information on Musikfest Berlin 2025, including interviews with selected composers and performers, stories related to the hidden object picture, and audio recordings of selected concerts, which will be available shortly after each event.

Musikfest Berlin 2025

Fallback-Bild Treffen junge Musikszene

slides8

The Treffen junge Musikszene 2025 presents a rather young line-up of surprisingly mature, accomplished and experimental musicians, including numerous strong female artists. Recordings of the concerts are available in the media library.

Treffen junge Musikszene 2025

Fallback-Bild Treffen junger Autor*innen

slides9

In their 2025 texts, the young authors write about very personal situations and relationships, from issues of social and emotional integration to family histories and everyday observations, to questions about the global situation, politics, the climate, and social or economic injustice. The readings and other events are available in the media library.

Treffen junger Autor*innen 2025

In the Media Library

BFS26_Newsletter_Icon_schwarz

The Berliner Festspiele newsletter keeps you up to date on ticket sale starts, new events and selected highlights.

Stay connected. Stay informed.

main

Advance sales are now live: tickets for ten selected concert highlights of the Musikfest Berlin, which in 2026 will also mark the 75th anniversary of the Berliner Festspiele, are now available. The program includes Gy&ouml;rgy Ligeti's grotesquely humorous anti-opera Le Grand Macabre and George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess.

Musikfest Berlin

As an international co-production, artists Nina Laisné and François Chaignaud and singer Nadia Larcher have developed a performance that is carried by music, singing and dance at once. In “Último helecho”, European Baroque meets South American folklore and mythology.

Último helecho

pas25_tanzende_idioten_gabelstapler

In Thorsten Lensing’s new play, Ursina Lardi, Karin Neuh&auml;user, Sebastian Blomberg, André Jung and drummer Willi Kellers play characters careening their way from one disaster to the next. What defines them is an absurd blend of brutality and tenderness, anarchy and metaphysical curiosity, existential pain and zest for life.

Tanzende Idioten

gb25_ligia_lewis_wayward_chant_live_performance_ligia_lewis_i_m_not_here_forrrrr_gropius_bau_2025_-c-_gropius_bau_foto_rosa_merk_116.jpg

Artist and choreographer Ligia Lewis’s new work “Wayward Chant” explores the intersections of despair and beauty through the mobilization of the chorus. A pared-down score unfolds, featuring moving, chanting bodies arranged in detailed formations.

Wayward Chant

pageToTrackingSecondSectionMapping

pageToTrackingSecondSectionMapping0

pageToSecondSection

pageToSecondSection0

pageToSecondSection1

pageToSecondSection10

pageToSecondSection11

pageToSecondSection12

pageToSecondSection2

pageToSecondSection3

pageToSecondSection4

pageToSecondSection5

pageToSecondSection6

pageToSecondSection7

pageToSecondSection8

pageToSecondSection9

pageToTrackingSecondSectionMapping1

appFooterBfsLogo

Gropius Bau linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals0

Jazzfest Berlin linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals1

MaerzMusik linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals2

Musikfest Berlin linksbündig_neu

appFooterFestivals3

Festivals & Programmreihen

Der schnellste Weg zu unseren Festivals, Ausstellungen und Programmreihen: The quickest way to our festivals, exhibitions and programme series:<ul> <li data-list-item-id="ee454f6bba6dcd661c2b7edd414eab7d7"><a href="${link:{uuid:{55f81055-59ad-4284-b7c4-a3019f95610e},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/gropius-bau}}}">Gropius&nbsp;Bau</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="ec3886f5d29567ce78cd06f4459b03473"><a href="${link:{uuid:{26e11d22-b6fe-47cb-a18a-b6b29d9136a7},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/jazzfest-berlin}}}">Jazzfest&nbsp;Berlin</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="e7d38f564fd4f22768b7696b15d811747"><a href="${link:{uuid:{3295227e-266e-442b-9094-c484230f623f},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/maerzmusik}}}">MaerzMusik</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="e1e95b4bfbcd378aa4524f454dbebb834"><a href="${link:{uuid:{6633a1a2-5791-4d37-85a7-e0b06fa105f2},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/musikfest-berlin}}}">Musikfest&nbsp;Berlin</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="ef4224b0cc83c57bc92c55f992207d3c8"><a href="${link:{uuid:{af5afe78-6bdd-4e71-aae7-9589124d87bd},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/performing-arts-season}}}">Performing Arts Season</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="e927e163debc8206c889eccbfb72ad422"><a href="${link:{uuid:{d3bfb8fb-6de2-4f18-b845-2f5b1362d57a},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/reflexe-und-reflexionen}}}">Reflexe &amp; Reflexionen</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="e26c576ec8e3f8056f4f5261c92e32083"><a href="${link:{uuid:{fa672cb2-855e-469b-8212-4dec36fe248c},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/theatertreffen}}}">Theatertreffen</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="e34b20e95a0de794ca7829669ed579a6e"><a href="${link:{uuid:{4edae657-6eda-4c0e-bca1-0ce354742029},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/treffen-junge-szene}}}">Treffen junge Szene</a>&nbsp;</li> <li data-list-item-id="ed174faadf412b4d837a031d2e8f30452"><a href="${link:{uuid:{e2d52b51-5741-4e56-9a32-a573fa7dd49c},repository:{website},provider:{jcr},path:{/bfs-de/what-if-berlin}}}">What If Berlin</a></li></ul>Dar&uuml;ber hinaus geht es hier zu den folgenden Seiten: In addition, click here to go to the following pages:<ul> <li data-list-item-id="eb1db6edbdd7a318fcdc3a5ef71e41261"><a href="${link:{uuid:{f9e53754-08cb-44b3-8aef-d1bc11968779},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de}}}">Startseite</a>&nbsp;(Home Page)</li> <li data-list-item-id="ee619b8d5116d690c4537beee86492b9b"><a href="${link:{uuid:{9e5a1240-2f96-4b76-be7b-a8c3f2a22bbd},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/programm/kalender}}}">Kalender</a>&nbsp;(Calendar)</li> <li data-list-item-id="efc8c043d54cdfd6075a831059de18c2d"><a href="${link:{uuid:{1c781ff7-4d77-4925-af10-b8f846eb2b8a},repository:{website},path:{/bfs-de/besuch/anfahrt-kontakt}}}">Anfahrt &amp; Kontakt</a>&nbsp;(Visit &amp; Contact)</li> <li data-list-item-id="e8dc7899fbbce6bd907a56a52e3dcc616"><a href="https://tickets.kbb.eu/kbb.webshop/webticket/shop?language=de">Webshop</a>&nbsp;(Online Shop)</li></ul>Falls das auch nicht hilft, finden Sie unsere Veranstaltungen auch auf externen Seiten: If that doesn't help you can find our event on external pages:<ul> <li data-list-item-id="ecc252ab7b8fa0d19c219ec2beef08d14"><a href="http://www.berlin-buehnen.de/de/spielplan/?locations=80">Berlin B&uuml;hnen</a></li> <li data-list-item-id="eb55996ae0028493f01e1190c96e3ff9f"><a href="http://www.museumsportal-berlin.de/de/museen/martin-gropius-bau/#section-exhibitions">Museumsportal Berlin</a></li></ul>M&ouml;chten Sie uns helfen? Schicken Sie uns gerne eine Nachricht mit dem Hinweis, wo der Fehler aufgetreten ist: You want to help us? Please send us a message with a hint where the error occurred: <a href="mailto:online-plattformen@berlinerfestspiele.de">online-plattformen@berlinerfestspiele.de</a>

Die Seite wurde nicht gefunden! /&nbsp;The page was not found!

Throughout the year, the Berliner Festspiele organise various festivals and art exhibitions, concerts, dance and theatre performances, readings, lectures, debates and much more. In addition to other venues in Berlin, they primarily use their own two buildings for this purpose: the Gropius Bau and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.