Haus der Berliner Festspiele

The Haus der Berliner Festspiele on Schaperstrasse in Wilmersdorf opened in 1963 to designs by Fritz Bornemann as the theatre of the Freie Volksbuehne. The building with its silvery corrugated aluminium roof and recessed foyer is a key work of Berlin post-war modernism; the balcony-free auditorium of about 1,000 seats offers an unusually democratic sightline to the stage. Since 2001 the Berliner Festspiele have run it with the Theatertreffen, MaerzMusik, Foreign Affairs and Musikfest Berlin. Visitors catch productions that crown the Berlin theatre season and can admire the dramatically curved foyer before the show.