Delphi

The Delphi in Berlin-Weißensee is a former large cinema built in 1929. It stands in the Gustav-Adolf-Straße, a street whose name has not changed since the building’s opening. The architects Julius Krost and Heinrich Zindel designed it as a single-storey hall with a foyer and balcony. The walls inside were finished in rust colour, and a silk curtain hung before the stage. Two AEG projectors of the ‘Triumphator’ brand showed the first silent films, accompanied by an orchestra of thirteen musicians in the pit. The cinema opened on 26 November 1929 with the film Hochverrat. In the late 1940s it still seated 889 people, but by 1959 water damage from war-time leaks had forced its closure. After years as a vegetable store, laundry depot and stamp shop, a new owner tried to run an organ showroom before the building was auctioned in 2005. In 2016 the anthroposophic Edith Maryon Foundation bought the site and financed repairs costing about 1.4 million euros. Nikolaus Schneider and Brina Stinehelfer reopened it in December 2017 as a flexible cultural venue. Visitors now find a restored hall with the original rust walls and balcony. The stage can host plays, concerts, opera excerpts and dance performances. The first open day offered Shakespeare readings, classical concerts and small-scale variety acts. Plans for the season include a winter fairy-tale and premières by the Shakespeare Company. The interior’s opulent fittings have even stood in for the legendary Moka Efti in television productions. The city supports the theatre with an annual grant, keeping ticket prices low and the atmosphere informal.