Editorial 1/2017

Edtorial: Restart

Last year ended tragically. Twelve people lost their lives in a brutal attack on the Berlin Christmas market. Our thoughts are with their families and friends. Unfortunately, the new year didn’t start much better. At an almost hourly rate, we witnessed Donald Trump attacking the values we hold dear. Culture and education are two of the most important ones. Investing in them means investing in the future. 

Hamburg’s monumental Elbphilharmonie concert hall was finally inaugurated on 11 January. Built with taxpayers’ money, the result is impressive enough to gloss over the delays and exploding costs it entailed. But could a less costly alternative have been found to the elaborate facade, with its handblown lamps and individually milled noise-absorbing coverings?  The consensus seems to be that it was right to follow the architect’s directions and create a landmark of our day. It remains to be seen, however, whether the technology meets the demands of the venue. And the question is raised of whether the Elbphilharmonie is exceptional in every respect or whether the public sector will risk financing more such grand projects, in which case – should limits be set?  

The alternative route – which is still the rule rather than the exception – is illustrated by the “Kraftwerk Mitte” venue in Dresden, opened in December 2016. Housing the state operetta and the junge generation theatre in a former power plant, the new venue was completed on schedule, without exceeding the budget of around 100 million Euro. These centrally located premises provide excellent conditions for a restart. 

The same can be said of the renovation project at the Bern municipal theatre in Switzerland. Refurbishment by a process of stages, as is typical for theatres in German‐speaking countries, is set to make it fully viable for the future.        

In this issue, we also report on interesting restarts and collaborations in the fields of organizing productions and updating German and international standards. The young and young‐at‐heart will be happy to hear that Harry Potter is back on the scene, now in a production on the London stage. And fans can also tour the studios where the films were made. 

The enclosed issue of “Podium” looks at several topics currently concerning the industry. One of these is how to redefine the training regulations for event engineering specialists; another, rethinking work contracts for technicians. 

We hope you find both food for thought and practical help in this issue of BTR!

The Editors