“On Sunday afternoon, August 19, 2012, the ensemble of SHAKESPEARE IM PARK BERLIN presented the final showing (concluding a monthlong run) of its new, site-specific performance piece in Berlin’s Görlitzer Park. Utopia™ – Where All Is True moved through the park and made use of its varied topography and structures as sites for interrelated scenic installations to unfold: carnival games, workers’ protests, execution dirges, PowerPoint presentations, synthpop fight songs, urban gardening, fashion shows, golden latrines, tire swing torture, Dada literature lessons, and jazz hands, of course.”
“On August 19, the underlying terms, assumptions, dynamics, and politics of the so-called ‘public’ nature of this performance were called into question in a most dramatic fashion. Midway through, the SHAKESPEARE IM PARK ensemble found itself in the midst of a very divided public indeed. A portion of the sizable audience, followed along, participated in, and seemed to enjoy or at least engage with the performance as it moved through the park. Another portion of the audience, many of whom were children and adolescents, made it quite clear that they were more than displeased with what they were seeing and hearing. During the second half of the performance, the ensemble’s performers were spit on by members of the audience; groups of spectators blatantly disrupted and screamed over/at scenes; and in the final moments of the piece—a giant, ironic musical number fittingly titled ‘The Golden Age‘ — audience members threw food, sand, soccer balls, and stones at the performers.”