Cabaret of the Nameless

The famous Berlin cabaret is but a fond memory. We can see short film-sequences, listen to records, but that’s about it. Nevertheless, there is in today’s German capital, something called Kabarett der Namenlosen. I haven’t seen it myself so I cannot vouch for its interest. But they boast some positive press echoes and they have a website:

http://www.boheme-sauvage.net/kdn_press.html

What follows is a citation from the website :

Le Pustra‘s Kabarett der Namenlosen​ is an​ i​ mmersive theatrical play and contemporary interpretation of the scandalous 1920’s in Berlin. The show is staged at the historical​ Ballhaus Berlin​ in Mitte. ​ Kabarett is currently in its 4th run and directed and conceived by International performer, Le Pustra​ and produced by Bohème Sauvage​ .

In Kabarett der Namenlosen, Le Pustra reimagines the Weimar Republic Cabaret Culture through his own unique point of view. The show explores the sexual and artistic freedom enjoyed during those years and the aim of the production is to recapture the exhilarating​ Zeitgeist of the 1920’s. This celebrated period in Berlin still fascinates us today and is more popular than ever with tourists,bohemians, artists and historians visiting from far and wide in search of that illusive but well documented “divine decadence”.

Le Pustra says “I want to offer our audiences a voyeuristic glimpse into the surreal world of smoky late night “Nachtlokals” of the fabled Golden Twenties where you might meet Anita Berber​ and Sebastian Droste. Anything was possible and everything was available.”

The story of Kabarett der Namenlosen consists of various intertwining “flashbacks” from the past as told by its enigmatic and often menacing conférencier, Le Pustra. The action taking place represents a fantasy, an illusion and what the 1920's could have been like if we could visit for only one night.

Various characters appear throughout the evening in short vignettes, comedy turns and poignant performances. The intimate Ballhaus Berlin provides the mise ​ -en-​ scène for the Kabarett’s surreal habituées and the audience are invited to enter a smoky hallucination of sex, art, beauty and dance the night away with The Beautiful and The Damned.

The original Kabarett der Namenlosen was a famous joint in Berlin in the 1920s but Le Pustra’s production doesn’t seem to have much to do with it, which is probably a good thing…
The Conférencier Erich Lowinsky put a newspaper ad in 1926, in which he sought "young talents", which should appear in  front of a paying audience. The event should be called Cabaret of the Nameless.

Lowinsky chose mostly applicants with very little talent, so that the event was something of a freak-show. The actors were mostly laughed at by the audience and booed. The critics spoke of sadism and bad taste.

The Kabarett der Namenlosen appears in Erich Kästner's novel Fabian, from 1931.