LEBEN GROPIUSSTADT GEBRAUCHSANWEISUNG - New and Old Stories from an Imperial Hunting Ground

Satellite town, cemetery, dormitory suburb, concrete wasteland, imperial hunting ground, border zone, problem district, bird sanctuary, utopia and dystopia: welcome to Berlin's Gropiusstadt!

In its short history, this neighbourhood has accumulated a long list of labels, been the subject of countless planning schemes, and frequently dismissed with contempt. Inspired by Georges Perec's novel "Life: A User's Manual", the theatre work of Gropiusstadt resident Arthur Romanowski and his team turns its gaze on the stories of the people who live and work there. How did they end up here? Which stories leave a mark? What kind of user's manual for life does Gropiusstadt have to offer?

Through intensive research, the team conducted interviews with Gropiusstadt residents. Their biographies form a mosaic of their own, interweaving with the biography of the director and performer himself. Audiences encounter the most varied stories from Gropiusstadt - and from them emerges a distinct portrait of Berlin in the 20th and 21st centuries.