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Berlin-based Performer and Writer, Le Pustra, will take to the stage at Light House in Soho on Saturday 29 August for an illustrated talk exploring the life and legacy of Weimar-era dancer and poet, Anita Berber.
The event, which runs from 7pm to 8.30pm with doors opening at 6.30pm, has already sold out. It will conclude with a short performance and a Q&A session.
Berber, who lived from 1899 to 1928, was a dancer, silent-film actress, hat model, poet and artists’ muse who became one of the most recognised and controversial nude dancers of her era. She achieved international fame on her own terms before her death at Bethanien Krankenhaus in Kreuzberg at the age of 29.
A Legacy Obscured By Myth
The talk aims to separate fact from fiction around a figure whose story has been substantially reshaped by exaggeration and fabrication over the decades.
Berber’s achievements were largely overlooked for much of the 20th century. Her name re-entered public awareness following Director, Rosa von Praunheim’s, 1987 cult film Anita – Tänze des Lasters (Anita – Dances of Vice), which inspired a subsequent generation of artists, dancers, fashion designers and historians.
Berber has been variously characterised as a femme fatale and branded the “Priestess of Debauchery,” but the talk positions her instead as an embodiment of the Neue Frau (New Woman) of the early Weimar Republic. Still a teenager when she rose to prominence, she became a tabloid sensation through her performances, visual style and public behaviour.
Sensational stories continue to circulate around Berber, from alleged affairs with sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld and actress Marlene Dietrich to claims she insulted the King of Yugoslavia and served six weeks in prison.
Her legacy persists in part through Artist, Otto Dix’s, 1925 portrait of Berber, which is currently on display at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie until 3 January 2027.
Le Pustra’s Background
Le Pustra is a self-styled Kunstfigur (art figure), Performer, Creative Director, Writer and Lecturer who has worked across Berlin’s cabaret and avant-garde arts scene for more than two decades.
He is known for portraying the character Edwina Morell in the German television series Babylon Berlin across Seasons 3 and 4, and is set to reprise the role in the show’s fifth and final season, which is due for release in late 2026.
His work draws on silent-film aesthetics, immersive production techniques and the traditions of Weimar cabaret. His long-running production, Kabarett der Namenlosen, established his reputation in Berlin’s performance scene and led to his casting in Babylon Berlin.
Outside of his own productions, Le Pustra performs with Germany’s Moka Efti Orchestra at venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus and Hamburg’s Laeiszhalle.
He has collaborated with institutions including the Goethe-Institut, Humboldt University Berlin, UCLA, Morbid Anatomy and the Australian National University. His work has also appeared in academic publications from Bloomsbury, Cambridge University Press, Routledge and Camden House.
Critical And Academic Reception
Academic and media commentary on Le Pustra’s work has focused on his visual identity and approach to performance.
Dr Anna-Sophie Jürgens, of the Australian National University, has described Le Pustra as “an iridescent queer Kunstfigur – a creation of beauty and living work of Surrealism-inspired art. From underground cabaret darling to accidental club kid-cum-avant-garde fashion muse, Le Pustra is a colourful shapeshifting conduit thriving on visual stimuli.”
Sleek Magazine has noted that “Le Pustra’s work radically alters conventions of beauty, glamour and sexuality.”
Author, Jill Suzanne Smith, wrote in her 2024 book The Afterlives of Weimar Berlin: Twenty-First-Century Literature, Media, and Visual Culture that “Morell is played with demonic campiness by contemporary performance artist Le Pustra.”
Event Details
The event at Light House, located at 48 Berwick Street, London W1F 8JD, is an 18+ event. No refunds are available on tickets. The event has sold out.
