Berlin is known for its cabaret scene…read more
Bar Jeder Vernunft is a superb cabaret.
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How would I know this since I don't speak German?
Berlin cabaret is the stuff of witty performers tossing out wry life observations, double entendres, and venomous barbs all the while maintaining a poetic outlook on life.
If you don't speak German, you are like a child at the adult table.
I had two outs.
a) I was at a David Bowie tribute that was half in German and half in English.
Okay, 80% in German and 20% in English ...
But 1/5 of the time I was in the loop.
b) I could watch the audience and see what they were doing.
The house was cracking up in laughter over and over and over again.
Comedians would say the room was "live".
The performance got a wild mad standing ovation at the end.
I would say the Berliners thought this was an excellent show.
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What can I say just from my own direct personal experience?
a) Shows will obviously vary in quality from one booking to the next.
My night had Sven Ratzke, a well established and highly regarded Dutch/German cabaret specialist.
The man can sing and the man can dance.
His versions of the Bowie classics were better than the Bowie originals,
Because he put a lot more soul and emotion into them.
b) The shows are hosted by different people, often as not a sophisticated drag queen.
Our hostess that night was a superstar.
Imagine an elegant refined willow-thin blonde bombshell.
She was nearly seven feet high between her heels and her bouffant.
This woman had a commanding stage presence.
Imagine a cross between the intensity of a Klaus Kinski and the platinum 1920's polish of a Marlene Dietrich.
I could have watched her all night - even without understanding a single word she said.
c) The ambience is a world of fantasy.
The room is set up as a faux circus tent.
You feel like you are at the circus the moment you walk in.
d) Bar Jeder Vernunft also runs a dinner theater operation for those who want it, with prepaid food before the show and during the break.
Dinner theater food tends to be awful.
We skipped the prepaid dinner but did order extensively from the kitchen and bar.
What we had was surprisingly decent.
No surprise - the beer was good.
You can go to a convenience store in Berlin,
Buy a bottle of beer and
Sit on a folding chair on the sidewalk drinking that beer.
The beer will be good.
The fact that a cabaret would make a point to stock good beer is what one would expect.
The cheese plate was far better than I would have expected.
Yes - I have been to upscale French cafes where the cheese board was better.
But for an everyday cheese board, there was
a generous selection of a wide variety of cheeses,
fantastic bread,
even better butter,
beautifully fresh and flavorful grapes,
and a surprise horseradish compote to ambush you at unexpected times.
The horseradish compote definitely shook me loose from the hazy fog of my beer.
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If you don't speak German and missing the jokes is going to bother you,
Then Bar Jeder Vernunft for you might be a bridge too far.
But if you just love the food and the beer and the spectacle and the music ...
This could be a magical night.
Magical nights are good things.
