Awards

In 2023, Chamäleon was awarded the Federal Theatre Award in the category “Private theatres and theatres for guest performances”. Chamäleon is “the spearhead of a dynamic development in the performing arts that transcends existing boundaries between genres and types of activities”, the jury commented. “Like no other theatre, Chamäleon, located in the heart of Berlin, stands for the evolution of the circus, from nouveau cirque to contemporary circus – its artistic and audience potential unfolds in such a way that old questions about highbrow and light entertainment, subculture or high culture, fixed or free are expressed via physically perceptible aesthetic energy”.

“We are overjoyed and insanely proud – being awarded the Federal Theatre Award is a great sign for us,” said Artistic Director Anke Politz and Managing Director Hendrik Frobel. “Not only for our theatre with its extraordinary structure, but for the entire contemporary circus scene in Germany. We accept this theatre award on behalf of our great team and all the artists and partners who have joined us on this daring and labour-intensive journey on which we are constantly reassessing and changing our values and working methods to put artistic creation and social interaction at the centre of our work.”

The award was presented by Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele on 11 October 2023.

For the first time in 2020, Aktionsbündnis Darstellende Künste awarded the Stage Hero Award to non-actors in six categories. Together with her team, Chamäleon’s Artistic Director Anke Politz won in the category “Spiel mir nicht das Lied vom Theatertod: Leitung eines Stadttheaters/einer Produktionsstätte” (Don’t play me the song of theatre death:
management of a city theatre/production location).

Due to the many challenges faced by the cultural and creative industries in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the Aktionsbündnis decided for the first time to focus not only on artists and creatives, but also to honour those who make a special contribution to the development of German theatre on a structural, administrative or political level.

The jury recognised the action Anke Politz and her team took in providing the touring Australian ensemble with accommodation in Berlin for four months at the beginning of the coronavirus-related closure of cultural venues and contributed a daily allowance to ensure the basic financial security of those stranded. Chamäleon also maintained its comprehensive support for artists through initiating a coronavirus-compatible residency programme for several months that enabled emerging companies to develop new work at the Chamäleon despite public cultural life being shut down.

“This initiative shows in an impressive way how much solidarity, voluntary commitment and tireless work at all levels have impacted this time,” said Anke Politz after the award ceremony. “Thank you to Aktionsbündnis Darstellende Künste for this wonderful idea and appreciation of everyone involved who do everything they can in their fields to cushion this crisis and provide real support.”

Launched in 1973, the Scotsman Fringe Firsts are one of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival’s most prestigious theatre awards.

The Fringe Firsts recognise outstanding new productions that debut at the Edinburgh Fringe and are awarded once a week throughout the festival.

Our production Raven, created by the Berlin-based artists’ collective still hungry, debuted at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2019 and was awarded the Scotsman Fringe First Award in the very first week.

The Scotsman recognised Raven as “Beautiful and spectacular (…) Among its many other splendid qualities, Raven captivates audiences with how it combines language and movement with perfect ease.”

The editors of the ThreeWeeks festival guide present ThreeWeeks Editors’ Awards for ten things that they think made the Edinburgh Festival special in that particular year. Winners can be people, plays, companies or venues.

One of the ten awards in 2019 went to Raven by still hungry. The editors described Raven as “a compelling and clever blend of theatre, comedy, circus and storytelling that explores how women deal with being working mothers, how society perceives and judges their choices and the misogyny they often face.”