BERLIN

Events

Smart Urban Stage

Urban sustainability is on a lot of our minds. The E-Mobility Project is dedicated to transforming transportation by getting more electric cars on the road. Test drive an electric Smart car and check out an exhibition on making cities more sustainable at the “Smart Urban Stage” on Oranienburger Strasse. Berlin is the first stop on the Smart Electric Drive European Tour.

Price: Free

Location: Oranienburger Strasse 59-63

Times: Monday – Sunday, 12-8pm; through June 13

More Information: www.smart-urban-stage.com or check out The Local’s own test drive.

Film

The Age of Stupid Film

The year is 2055 and global warming has ravaged the world. London filmmaker Franny Armstrong’s feature film The Age of Stupid Film takes place in the future and questions why we didn’t act on climate change when we had the chance. See it this weekend at the English Theatre Berlin, and swap out those light bulbs while you’re at it.

Price: Free

Location: The English Theatre Berlin, Fidicinstrasse 40

Times: Friday, May 14 and Saturday, May 15, 8pm

Reservations: 030 691 1211

More Information: www.ageofstupid.net

Readings

James Miller – Sunshine State

He won acclaim for his debut novel Lost Boys. Now the British author is back with a new thriller, Sunshine State. Secret agent Mark Burrows is on a quest to find his former colleague in a part of the United States where anarchy rules. Get a peek at this thrilling narrative Wednesday at Cafe Hilde.

Price: Free

Location: Cafe Hilde, Metzer Strasse 22

Times: Wednesday, May 19, 7:30-9:30pm

More Information: www.jamesmillerauthor.com

COLOGNE

Dance

Bhutan Cham Dancers

Donning masks and colourful brocade robes, eleven Bhutan monks tell a tale of Buddhist deities and demons through dance this week in Cologne. Be dazzled by the lively movements of this sacred performance, known as the Cham Dance.

Price: Free

Location: Cologne Cathedral, Roncalli-Platz; Aachener Weiher; City-Center, Chorweiler, Pariser Platz

Times: Thursday, May 13 – Monday, May 17, 12:30 and 5pm

More Information: www.museenkoeln.de/museum-fuer-ostasiatische-kunst

Children’s Opera

The Fisherman and His Wife

This classic fairy tale takes on a jazzy guise with music by Ingfried Hoffmann and a libretto by Barbara Hass. Kids three and up will delight in its timeless tale of happiness and ambition.

Price: €7.70 (Children); €12.10 (Adults)

Location: Altes Pfandhause, Kartäuserwall 20

Times: Sunday, May 16, 3pm; Tuesday, May 18, 11:30am; Wednesday, May 19, 11:30am

Tickets: 0221 2212 8400

More Information: www.operkoeln.com

FRANKFURT

Galleries/Museums

Sven Johne: Reports from the Crack of Dawn

The Berlin-based photographer documents places reported on in media stories. Delving behind the surface of newspaper articles, he shoots suicide sites and places where ships were said to be lost at sea. But beyond presenting this imagery as news, Johne contemplates their relationship to society and the world at large. See the new exhibition at the Frankfurter Kunstverein.

Price: €6

Location: Frankfurter Kunstverein, Steinernes Haus am Römerberg, Markt 44

Times: Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-7pm; through July 25

Phone: 069 219 3140

More Information: www.fkv.de

HAMBURG

Musical Theatre

John Malkovich – The Infernal Comedy – Confessions of a Serial Killer

Jack Unterweger was one of the most notorious European serial killers of the 20th century, and no one can take on such a creepy character quite like the inimitable John Malkovich. Combining a baroque chamber orchestra, two sopranos, and an actor, the curtain goes up on the only performance of “The Infernal Comedy” in Germany, Sunday.

Price: €15 – 35

Location: Schauspielhaus, Kirchenallee 39

Times: Sunday, May 16, 8 and 11pm

More Information: www.theinfernalcomedy.org

Music/Concerts

Kronos Quartet

Rock stars with strings. David Harrington, John Sherba, Hank Dutt, and Jeffrey Zeigler have recorded everything from Bill Evans to Witold Lutoslawski, Henryk Gorecki to Sigur Ros. Thursday night’s program includes Steve Reich’s “Different Trains.” Don’t miss it.

Price: €15 – 35

Location: Kampnagle, Jarrestrasse 20

Times: Thursday, May 13, 8pm

Tickets: 040 2709 4949

More Information: www.kampnagel.de

Sabine Maria Reiss and Krzysztof Gediga – C’est La Vie/Das Leben Eben

How do French songs sound in German? Find out Sunday at the Museum Elbinsel Wilhelmsburg, when Reiss and Gediga channel the likes of Edith Piaf.

Price: €15

Location: Museum Elbinsel Wilhelmsburg, Kirchdorfer Strasse 163

Times: Sunday, May 16, 5:30pm

Reservations: 040 302 34 861

More Information: www.museum-wilhelmsburg.de

MUNICH

Events

Buy or Cry

Pick up some new summer T-shirts this weekend. Jolly Company, Rockbox, and Iki M are just a few of the fifty stores and indie labels who will be hawking their wares at the Temporary Gallery in Munich.

Price: Free

Location: Temporary Gallery, Baaderstrasse 7

Times: Friday, May 14, 12-8pm; Saturday, May 15, 12-8pm; Sunday, May 16, 12-6pm

More Information: www.buyorcry.de

Music/Concerts

Rufus Wainwright

The glissando gleaning crooner kicks off a run of four German cities Monday in Munich. Watch him work the piano as he introduces the tunes from his latest disc All Days Are Nights: Songs for Lulu.

Price: €48.40

Location: Muffathalle, Zellstrasse 4

Times: Monday, May 17, 8:30pm

Tickets: 022 733 700

More Information: mct.tickets.de