One of Germany’s most famous theaters said on Thursday it could go bankrupt due to expected budget cuts by Berlin’s city council.
The Schaubuehne Theater told AFP that cuts in the city’s latest budget plans would “lead to insolvency by the end of 2025”.
Berlin’s cultural scene has rebelled against proposed cuts to support for the arts from next year in the city-state, where venues are already struggling with rapidly rising rents.
The city council has proposed cuts in arts funding totaling 130 million euros, about 12 percent of the total culture budget.
Founded in 1962 in what used to be West Berlin, the Schaubühne has long made a name for itself with its progressive programming.
Since 1999 it has been led by the well-known director Thomas Ostermeier, who has received several international awards for his work.
In a statement to AFP, the Schaubühne said the only alternative to bankruptcy would be “a huge program of restructuring and dismantling, which would mean losing what the theater stands for.”
It added that it was already closing an experimental studio as an initial response to the cuts.
It called on city councilors to “take into account the real situation of the Schaubühne and that of other theaters facing similar problems” when making their final decision on funding.
Berlin’s Culture Minister Joe Chialo told local media earlier this week that he was still negotiating to see if the cuts could be reduced.
Other proposed cuts to Berlin’s city budget have also caused controversy, including the abolition of the popular 29 euro monthly public transport ticket.
The ticket was only introduced this summer and already has 200,000 users.
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