Cabaret

«Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome ... Fremder, étranger, stranger …» This is how the legendary musical «Cabaret» begins – with the Master of Ceremonies’ tempting invitation to enter the dazzling world of the Kit Kat Club, where every night the enigmatic Sally Bowles will sing her famous song «Life is a Cabaret». One person who accepts his invitation is the young American writer, Clifford Bradshaw. As a foreigner he has come to the vibrant city intending not to miss a second of what is going on. «I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking». Cliff – who starts out as just a curious observer – becomes increasingly caught up in this intensely sensual world. At the same time, something dark is stirring – politically and socially – becoming an ever-stronger presence in the daily lives of these fun-lovers. But the parties, dancing and singing continue in frisky, jubilant and … mind-boggling style!

For the British-American writer Christopher Isherwood (1904–-1986), whose two autobiographical Berlin novels provided the basis for «Cabaret», his first visit to the city proved to be one of the most far-reaching experiences of his life. While he had initially believed «Babylon Berlin» was simply an «advertising slogan» to compete with the mythical status of Paris, in Berlin he soon experienced a «vast masquerade of perversions» and a freedom he had never known before. As the political situation became increasingly threatening, he eventually left Germany for Greece: as a homosexual, he knew that he was in danger.

The internationally acclaimed opera director Claus Guth approaches «Cabaret» - the legendary film version was shot in Munich – from his own individual perspective. For him, the detailed documentary picture it shows of Berlin in the 1930s is an internal voyage of discovery. An insecure young man, a writer with little personal experience, explores all facets of what is possible and – when confronted with the most intense reality possible – discovers himself and his identity.