When House of Circus talks about Carnivale Royale, it sounds less like a show description and more like a statement. They sum up the heart of the piece in one line: "Be who you want to be, wear what you want to wear, love who you want to love."
For artistic director Anke Politz, this is not just a slogan but the starting point for the collaboration: a show where identity is not background decoration, but the core of the evening. For the ensemble and for the audience.
Carnivale Royale at Chamaeleon Berlin: drag and circus as one language
Circus is physical labour, drag is physical self-styling.
House of Circus describes Carnivale Royale as "the perfect mix, because the celebration of one's own identity and physicality happens in many different and extremely powerful ways."
Within the piece, they say that drag and circus are "the ideal artistic means of expression to do justice to the infinite facets of being human."
The way Politz programs it, acrobatics and drag are not two separate layers, but a shared language for risk, desire, fragility and pride.
Nudity, sexuality and audience care at Chamaeleon Berlin
Their approach to nudity and sexuality also reveals how Chamäleon thinks about audience care.
Politz is clear that the content note for nudity and sexual innuendos is "information we provide so that people can make conscious decisions, just like language notices," not a nervous warning label.
She deliberately invites a mixed crowd:
"We currently experience an extremely open and accessible audience every night, coming from very different corners. School classes, senior groups or the Berlin club scene. Everyone finds their way into the piece over the course of the evening and stands up together at the end, celebrating diversity and the right to one's own identity and life choices."
A queer cabaret that does not only play for insiders, but also for people who rarely get this close to queer and sex positive performance.
How House of Circus and Chamaeleon built a Berlin edition
The relationship between House of Circus and Chamäleon started long before opening night. Politz recalls: "I saw the piece at the Berlin Circus Festival and was immediately convinced by their magnificent stage show, but also by their clear political stance and open invitation to the audience."
For the "exclusive Chamäleon edition", she didn't want a plug and play touring slot, but a made for Berlin version: "For an eight week run, we have above all integrated the stage and lighting design more strongly into the dramaturgy of the piece. The additional rehearsal time also allowed us to work on choreography and overall dramaturgy. Usually, companies only play one or two shows on tour and have to adapt to the technical conditions. We asked: What is your ideal version of the show, and what have you always wanted to include?"
Queer visibility under pressure. Anke Politz on the political moment
Given the current pressure on queer and sex positive visibility, we asked Politz directly how she reads the political moment. Her answer: "We have to make it everyone's problem and not give in to a feeling of hopelessness. Making things visible, solidarity and active engagement, from sharing and taking part to going out on the streets and reflecting our consumer habits and convenience. Above all, we have to stand up for each other."
One image she carries with her after each performance: "Experiencing how at the end of a performance 250 people, who are fundamentally different and certainly do not share all the same political opinions, stand up together and celebrate the right to individuality and the beauty of diversity, that gives strength and hope."
What first time visitors to queer cabaret should take home
When we ask what she wants people to take home who are visiting a queer cabaret for the first time, Politz puts it this way: "For every production and performance, we say that it should bring people closer to each other, that the shared experience and emotional resonance help us feel that we have more in common than what separates us."
"In the case of Carnivale Royale, the core message is that diversity makes a society stronger and more beautiful, and that it is not negotiable and cannot be voted away."
Chamaeleon Up Late with Tipsy Bear. From stage into Berlin nightlife
And because in Berlin it is never only about the stage, the evening doesn't end with the curtain call. On two selected evenings, Chamäleon Up Late opens the bar and the dancefloor in collaboration with Tipsy Bear which brings two of its finest DJs to the Chamäleon.
For Politz, this is part of the concept: "It was important to us and the company to build a bridge into the Berlin scene and to collaborate with people who work for LGBTQIA+ rights and the visibility of queer performance art. The party nights are the perfect combination of our artistic worlds, and hopefully something we can carry forward."
Theatre and nightlife meet here not as a gimmick, but as a shared commitment. Creating spaces where people can be who they want to be, and actually celebrate that together.
Before you mark your calendar: always double-check dates, location, and ticket info directly with the organizers.
Even the best promises come with fine print.