hamburg hauptbahnhof
60-minute performative tour, 2015
This performative tour invites participants to see Hamburg’s central station — a place we think we know — from unfamiliar perspectives.
Since the privatization of the railway in 1994, new security regulations have transformed stations, banning begging, sleeping, and lingering. What does this shift mean for public space and urban life?
The tour weaves together documentary observation, fiction, and imaginative storytelling. Based on two months of field research, Kathrin met people in the station and collected their stories, which she then reworked into narratives reflecting on public space, identity, gentrification, privatization, and control. At selected points in the station, these stories are performed by Kathrin, other performers, or objects, turning the audience itself into participants. The station becomes a living, interactive stage.
By defamiliarizing the familiar, the tour makes underlying social and temporal connections visible. It unsettles preconceptions, opens attention to overlooked details, and encourages reflection. At the end, participants gather to discuss and share their thoughts, continuing the exploration beyond the station itself.
