Shifting boundaries: An Eastern meeting of East and West German 'Kabarett'

Almost a century has elapsed since the tentative beginnings of 'Kabarett' i n Germany. During this time 'Kabarett' has developed into a 'cultural insti tution' which is dynamic in terms of style, mischievous with respect to the mes, parasitic in its appropriation of forms and, at times, ambiguous with regard to its function. The fact that 'Kabarett' draws on the general publi c's and audience's attitudes to political and social events and development s makes it a valuable source for examining cultural and political tensions. German unification has provided fertile ground for satire, especially in t he East, and has aided the rise in popularity of a more traditional ensembl e 'Kabarett' with music, songs, scenes and monologues as its core elements. 'Die Distel', located on the Friedrichstrasse in Berlin and founded in 195 3, are representative of this more traditional style. The group's reorienta tion within a new socio-political context has provided plenty of ammunition with which to attack political structures both past and present. The show '"Man trifft sich":ein deutsch-deutsches Familientreffen' (1998), which tak es a critical look at the function of satire in the divided Germany, as wel l as German-German relations since unification, forms the cornerstone of th e discussion in this paper. The show focuses on a fictional meeting between the West Berlin 'Kabarett' group 'Die Insulaner' (1948-68) and 'Die Distel ' itself and reveals the extent to which East German 'Kabarett' has been ab le to reassert itself with a new identity. By shifting boundaries on a numb er of levels (geographical, temporal and performance-related), East and Wes t perspectives on the Cold War period are brought to life, facilitating a r evaluation of the distortions and elisions of the post-war political polari sation.