Champions Slam | Open Air

HEADS UP:
It’s going to be really hot on Saturday—we know that. The slam starts at 8:15 p.m., when the entire audience area will be in the shade thanks to the surrounding trees. We’ll be sweating it out for you on stage—with pleasure. And you can just sit back and enjoy a cold drink.

Seriously, though. What else is there to say? An open-air poetry slam featuring the best poets around right now. Six champions from all over the country. Berlin’s biggest open-air cinema. You know what that means. A show for poetry slam fans who’ve seen it all. An evening for poetry slam newbies who’ll jump right in. A slam for people who can’t even remember what orange juice tastes like without champagne. And, of course, for people who really love eating popcorn!

The slam event of the summer, presented by Kiezpoeten Berlin.

Feature: 

WORTWIN & SLAMSON

Ortwin Bader-Iskraut and Samson are three-time team champions in poetry slam. That’s quite impressive, especially when you consider that they actually just wanted to make a really bad pun with their names. Ortwin becomes WORTwin, and Samson becomes SLAMson. Because of Poetry SLAM.

JAN CÖNIG

Jan Cönig from Frankfurt is a multiple Hesse champion and a finalist in the German-language Poetry Slam Championships, a turtle owner, and a passionate social worker.

With his mostly humorous texts, he manages to entertain without neglecting serious topics. 

For more than ten years, the Frankfurt native has been performing on slam stages both in Germany and abroad.

HANNAH ABELIUS

Hannah Abelius, who now calls Leipzig home, is currently the most successful East German poetry slammer.

With her texts—ranging from thought-provoking to humorous—the trained sex and relationship counselor is shattering taboos left and right on German-speaking slam stages.

As the Saxon state champion, she represents the poetry slam scene in and around Leipzig and Dresden.

LENNART HAMANN

Three-time Schleswig-Holstein champion Lennart Hamann is known for his high-energy performances and eloquent, rhyme-heavy texts.

As the “MacGyver” of northern German cabaret, he can be seen not only at poetry slams and readings but also as an amateur actor on theater stages, as a filmmaker, and occasionally even as a singer—entertaining the audience to no end or leaving them completely baffled.

MEIKE HARMS

As the Bavarian champion, Meike Harms represents southern Germany at the Champions Slam.

The author and poetry slammer has been a major figure in the Munich scene for well over 10 years. She writes stage poetry and verse for children, runs a reading series, and writes about freedom, bees, and the origins of life. She likes letters of all kinds and bicycles. 

ARNOLD PRETZLAW

As the Berlin U20 champion, Arnold Pretzlaw is one of the rising stars of the capital’s poetry scene. In his poetry, he oscillates between free form and fixed stylistic patterns. His love of rhythm runs like a common thread through his young and fresh body of work. In terms of content, he describes his work as falling somewhere between serious farewells and gecko techno (Geckno). 

ANTONIA JOSEFA

Antonia Josefa is not only regarded as a virtuoso of language, but also strikes a chord with her profound messages that capture the spirit of the times. 

Since 2022, she has not only been touring throughout the German-speaking world with her artistic work but has also founded projects such as the queer-feminist reading stage Womansplained and the poetry-dance event Beyond Slam.

At the Champions Slam, she represents the Lower Saxony/Bremen state championship.

Host:

ORTWIN BADER-ISKRAUT

(3-time German-Language Team Champion)

Early Bird Tickets starting at 15€ (limited availability), Regular Advance Tickets 25€/17€.

At the Box Office: 29€/19€.

The biggest open-air poetry slam of the summer at the Friedrichshain Open-Air Cinema.

Get your tickets now.