Catch the acclaimed documentary theatre piece "The Making of Berlin" from Belgium's BERLIN collective. It blends live performance, film, and a fascinating story about a WWII-era stage manager from the Berlin Philharmonic, questioning memory and truth. It's a clever, multi-layered show that's earned international praise.

Presented as part of the Autumn International Theatre Season, "The Making of Berlin" is a documentary theatre portrait of a city, built around the extraordinary story of Friedrich Mohr. He was the Berliner Philharmoniker’s stage manager during WWII, one of the ‘unbrave’ who failed to stand up when his Jewish musician friends were expelled.

The performance, featuring live horn music, offers an unfiltered look into BERLIN's creative process. It follows the company's attempt to help Mohr realize an unfulfilled dream from the end of the war: a technically ambitious, scattered performance of Wagner's "Siegfried's Funeral March" from seven different bunkers, broadcast live on radio.

Theatre-and film-maker Fien Leysen recorded the creation process, and her footage is integrated into the live performance. The audience gradually discovers that Mohr's story is full of inaccuracies, raising profound questions about how far one can stretch the truth when seeking atonement for an irreparable past.

This ingeniously layered work is the final part of BERLIN's "Holocene" cycle and has been hailed as one of the most important theatre productions of its year, receiving overwhelming critical acclaim internationally.

Director: Yves Degryse

Yves Degryse is the artistic director of BERLIN, which he co-founded in 2003. He is also one of the three artistic directors of NTGent in Antwerp. A master storyteller, his work expertly blends documentary and theatre, starting from reality to explore universal themes of humanity and community.

Production: BERLIN

The Belgian collective BERLIN creates works on the cusp of documentary and theatre. Armed with cameras, interview techniques, and actors, they start from reality—a city, an event, a testimony—and let the content decide the form, which can incorporate live music, technology, and installation. They are recipients of the Ultima Performing Arts Award for their outstanding oeuvre.