Fri

11.9.

20:00
maulwerker performing music

Fri

18.9.

Sat

19.9.

Sun

20.9.

18:00
Jigaraki

Tue

29.9.

19:30
Paul Marianne Furtwängler

Wed

30.9.

21:00
Compagnie troisbatailles

Thu

1.10.

18:30
Compagnie troisbatailles

Thu

1.10.

21:00
Compagnie 88 mètres/seconde

Fri

2.10.

19:00
Compagnie 88 mètres/seconde

Fri

2.10.

21:00
collectif particules fines

Sat

3.10.

Sat

3.10.

18:00
collectif particules fines

Sat

3.10.

20:00
Paul Marianne Furtwängler

Sat

3.10.

21:30
Livi Scheucher, Thea Ehre, Kirikou Gueye

Sun

4.10.

14:00
Massandje Sanogo a.k.a. Oxybabe

Sun

4.10.

20:00
Livi Scheucher, Thea Ehre, Kirikou Gueye

Wed

7.10.

19:30
ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS, Ruby Louise Rose & Guests

Fri

9.10.

10:00 Premiere
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Sat

10.10.

19:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Sun

11.10.

16:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Mon

12.10.

09:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Mon

12.10.

11:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Tue

13.10.

09:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Tue

13.10.

11:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Wed

14.10.

10:00
Sebastian Mauksch & Team

Productions

  • © Óscar Barbosa

  • © Óscar Barbosa

  • © Hannu Karjalainen

Desire Machines: a night of Queer sci-fi

ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS, Ruby Louise Rose & Guests

3 hours (with interval)
Theater hall

»Seven Songs of Yearning for a New World, Sung by a Starship« is a sci-fi musical and the first stage collaboration between ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS and Ruby Louise Rose. This Queer Futurist work combines original songs with poetic text to tell the story of Queer refugees carried through space on a starship powered by desire. Music and songs are composed by Ruby Louise Rose to text and lyrics created by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS and woven together into a 45-minute event performed live by Aslan, Chris, and Ruby with modulated voice, bass guitar and electronics. For the first Berlin showing, we invite friends old and new from the city and beyond to bring you an eclectic assortment of Queer sci-fi goodies, including short films, readings, music and more with Óscar Barbosa, Lor Burns, elliott cennetoglu, CoCo & Alice Thibes, ethan allison folk, Jean P’ark, and Anna T. The Otherland Bookstore will be selling a selection of Queer sci-fi at the event. To close Ruby Louise Rose will play a sci-fi themed DJ set. Join us for an evening of speculative wonder!

ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS have presented Queer speculative fictions at Ballhaus Ost since 2015. They return with co-conspirator Ruby Louise Rose for their first musical collaboration. Old and new friends from Berlin and beyond join them for a night of Queer sci-fi.

Seven Songs of Yearning: ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS & Ruby Louise Rose
With additional artistic contributions by: Óscar Barbosa, Lor Burns, elliott cennetoglu, CoCo & Alice Thibes, ethan allison folk, Jean P’ark, and Anna T.

Seven Songs of Yearning ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS & Ruby Louise Rose Short film Óscar Barbosa »Dreamers of the Wild Beyond« (AT), short film, looped installation Lor Burns »Soti Sotla« (AT), recorded reading / short film elliott cennetoglu »Na Czerwonym Globie«, short film CoCo & Alice Thibes Cauldron, live reading ethan allison folk untitled queer sci-fi song Jean P’ark Δiotima; or, Δeir*land: A fragmented stori of arkivs, kolektivism, imaginaʃon, & multituds, recorded extract reading / short film Anna T.

Seven Songs of Yearning is a production by ONCE WE WERE ISLANDS & Ruby Louise Rose in cooperation with Ballhaus Ost, Theater neben dem Turm, and Kaivos-festivaali. Funded by the Finnish Arts and Culture Agency and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.

Dates

  • Oct 07, 2026, 19:30
Tickets

25 | 20 | 15 | 10 Euro.
Tickets can be purchased by phone, email, or online. Please note that reservations via email and phone are only possible from Monday to Friday between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM. For online tickets, the provider Reservix charges a 10% advance booking fee and a 2 Euro service fee in addition to the basic ticket price. 3-Euro-tickets for holders of a Berlin Pass / Berlin Ticket S are available at the box office only or via karten@ballhausost.de. Reduced tickets are available to schoolchildren, trainees, students, unemployed, pensioners, BFD- and FSJ-workers, colleagues and artists. With Tanzcard the tickets are reduced by 20% (only at the box office). Disabled persons receive reduced admission and free admission for one accompanying person.

Language Info

In englischer Lautsprache.

Access / Content Note

Early boarding from 19:00.
With pause.
Wheelchair accessible.
Various seating options available.
Relaxed performance.

Content note: Films may contain loud music, flickering images.