大象传媒

Welcome to the cabaret at Juwelia鈥檚 gallery in Neuk枚lln, Berlin. Our hostess is at the window, a rose in her hair, waiting to see what happens. 鈥淲ho knows what the evening will bring?鈥� she is fond of saying. 鈥淚鈥檓 sitting here and I look good. That鈥檚 all, no?鈥�

It is a schmoozy-coozy salon, a space for burlesque, where shared fantasies become reality. Juwelia鈥檚 paintings cover the walls, self-portraits with lovers in sunflower fields or by the bins at the local U-Bahn station. Her songs tell of a changing neighbourhood - 鈥淥nce Bratwurst, now Champagne鈥� - and of her life as the most beautiful woman in Berlin.

鈥淭he ways of my own life have led me elsewhere. But I hope that some young foreigner has fallen in love with this city and is writing what happened or might have happened to him there...鈥� - Christopher Isherwood, Preface to The Berlin Stories.

We arrive at the Juwelia's with the guests to take our place at a tiny table and drink Sekt. At some point the show begins - songs, dancing, a lecture on capitalism delivered with the aid of two balloons. Guests step up from the audience to take a turn on the little stage. Our Isherwood-quoting narrator is a sound recordist, happy to put down the book and the broom and enter the world of the cabaret.

Produced by Phil Smith
A Falling Tree production for 大象传媒 Radio 4