Theater in der Speicherstadt

The theatre stood in the Speicherstadt, Hamburg’s old warehouse district, beside the Brooksfleet canal and the brick Kesselhaus of the former power plant. The temporary open-air stage filled the gap between water and building every July and August. The Kesselhaus itself, designed by Franz Andreas Meyer in the late 19th century, still forms part of the UNESCO-listed ensemble. Each summer the Hamburger Art Ensemble staged its own version of Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s Jedermann. Performances began at six in the evening and ran until midnight, with the street Auf dem Sande closed to traffic. The Kesselhaus provided dressing rooms and a small bar, while containers added extra space for actors and audience alike. The event became a fixture in Hamburg’s cultural calendar, drawing both locals and visitors year after year. After twenty-five seasons the final production closed in 2018, as growing noise from the busy port made further open-air performances impossible.