Nestervals Eldorado

This is binge watching for theatre and up close: In the plays by the queer folk theatre group Nesterval, the audience accompanies individual characters through a variety of scenes — like on a nested film set, the skillful storytelling leads through different narrative threads and the entire Sophiensæle building.

With immersive theatre work over several hours, Nesterval makes theatre an experience. In her hometown of Vienna, the pieces sell out within a few minutes. Now the group is coming to Berlin for the first time and is developing a site-specific work for Sophiensæle: Nesterval's Eldorado. The focus is on the queer history of the city before and during the National Socialist terror — in particular in Berlin's Scheunenviertel around Sophiensæle. Inspired by the biographies of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans* people who were systematically persecuted and murdered during the Nazi dictatorship, fiction and reality are skilfully woven into a moving narrative in which the audience becomes the thoughts of the protagonists.

The Nesterval ensemble consists of actors, performers, stage artists, such as Drag Queens and Kings. Different playing styles are equally right next to each other. The result is a queer folk theatre that sheds light on our present from the past. In small groups, the audience only ever follows the stories partially. The subsequent exchange of experiences is part of the experience. This creates unique spaces of discussion that are remembered for a long time.