Accessibility – Sophiensæle | Independent Theater in Berlin

Accessibility

Download the accessible program for November/December in German here.

Tickets
Information on Accessibility
Language
Content Note
Audiodescription for blind and visually impaired people
Show visit with assistance dog
German Sign Language (DGS)
Relaxed performance
Arrival and Parking
Event spaces
Accessible bathrooms
Gender-neutral bathrooms
360° Videotour
Early boarding
Contact

We are constantly working on developing and improving our accessibility. To do this, we rely on your feedback. We look forward to your questions and suggestions at any time! Please don't hesitate to contact us at barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 35.

Tickets

Due to the limited seating capacity, we recommend purchasing tickets online via our webshop. Online pre-sale ends 2 hours before the performance begins. Please book a “Sitzsack-Ticket” if you need a beanbag-seat.

Disabled people get a reduced-price ticket. If you attend the performance with an assistant, they will receive a free ticket. The companion ticket can be booked online, by telephone or at the box office in combination with a reduced ticket called “ermäßigt (Behinderung)” or – as a wheelchair user – “ermäßigt (mit Rollstuhl)”. Due to safety regulations, a maximum of two people in wheelchairs are permitted per event in the Festsaal and Hochzeitssaal.

The box office opens 2 hours before the performance begins. Our ticket telephone 030 283 52 66 is staffed from Monday to Friday between 4 and 6 pm.

Further information on ticketsales can be found here.

Information on accessibility

We aim to provide individual “information on accessibility” for each piece in our program. This includes information on sensorial stimuli such as lighting and sound, special effects such as fog, possible trigger content, the seating and audience situation and more. As of two weeks before the first performance date you will find the accessibility information below the announcement text of each performance on our website.

Language

For all productions, you will find information about any required language skills in our print and online media.

Content Note

You will find content notes on some of the announcement pages of the plays at the Sophiensaele. Content notes are indications of possibly sensitive content that can be potentially triggering. Communication about this allows potential visitors to decide for themselves whether a performance is accessible for them in terms of content or not. 

The availability and scope of the content notes result from a joint process and in close consultation with the artists and groups responsible in each case. Therefore, there are not always content notes for all pieces in our programme.

We are aware that the content of some artistic works without content notes can be disturbing, stressful or even retraumatising for some visitors. As there is a wide range of different triggers and we are not always equally sensitive to all of them, we offer our audiences the opportunity to ask us about specific triggers in advance if they need to.

We encourage you to contact us and inquire if specific sensitive content will be addressed, shown or performed in one of our performances. All you need to do is send us a short email, for example, which does not require any special wording or explanation and can also consist of just a question. Please contact the communication department by email at barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or by phone at 030 27 89 00 35.

Please understand that it will not always be possible to provide information on all pieces and performances, and that the scope of the content notes can vary greatly, as many of our pieces are still in the process of being created and we show a lot of premieres.

We will do our best to follow up on all your requests.

Thanks to the Festival Theaterformen for the impulse.

Audio description for blind and visually impaired people

We regularly offer audiodescriptions and tactile tours of selected performances to make them accessible to blind and visually impaired people. The tactile tour takes place prior to the performance. The stage space is explored, props and costumes are described. The performers introduce and describe themselves. In the audiodescription over wireless headphones the processes on stage are described. This gives people with visual impairments access to the visual elements of a performance: movement, gestures, facial expressions, stage design, costumes and props are described. Places for audio description are limited. Registration at barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 35.

If required, we offer a pick-up service for blind and visually impaired persons from the nearby S-Bahn, U-Bahn and tram stations. These are U-Bahn Weinmeisterstraße, S-Bahn Hackescher Markt or the tram station Weinmeisterstraße/Gipsstraße. To make use of the pick-up service, please contact us within our office hours (Monday to Friday, 10am–6pm) at 030 27 89 00 35 or barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com.

For further information and registration please contact us at: barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 35.

Next dates

Performance visit with assistance dog

Please contact us in advance at barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com or 030 27 89 00 35 if you would like to attend a performance with your assistance dog. We can then discuss the room situation and conditions of the production together.

German Sign Language (DGS)

Regularly, selected performances are also accessible through German Sign Language (DGS) for Deaf audiences. These performances take place either exclusively in DGS or with DGS or with interpretation in DGS. DGS is one of the languages used in the play, if the performance is with DGS. DGS is the main language used in the play, if the performance is in DGS.

Relaxed performance

Selected performances take place as Relaxed Performance. Relaxed Performances would like to welcome all visitors for whom sitting still for a long time in the theatre is a barrier. This applies, for example, to neurodivergent people (including autistic people, people with Tourette's or ADHD), people with learning difficulties or people with chronic pain. Noises and movements from the audience are welcome. Visitors can leave and return to the auditorium at any time. More specific information on each Relaxed Performance can be found on the individual play pages under Accessibility Information.

Arrival and parking

There are no parking spaces at the Sophiensælen. Parking spaces for disabled people are available in the immediate vicinity: One parking space at Sophienstraße 21 (approx. 50 m away); two parking spaces at the corner of Rosenthaler/ Neue Schönhauser (Neue Schönhauser Str. 9, approx. 230 m away).

The nearest accessible stop is Hackescher Markt S-Bahn station. From there, parts of the path to the Sophiensæle lead over cobblestones. Under the archway in the first courtyard entrance to the Sophiensaele are barrier bollards marked with a red and white reflective marker. In the courtyard of the Sophiensaele there are gaps in the floor with larger intervals.

Event spaces

The Kantine is at ground level and accessible without steps. The Festsaal (1st floor) and Hochzeitssaal (3rd floor) can be reached via an elevator (1.76 m × 2.71 m) when accompanied by the house staff. To use the elevator please contact our evening staff. The distance from the street to the elevator is approx. 60 m. The distance from the street to the ticket office is approx. 25 m. Find a 360° tour through the building here.

The steps in the stairways have edge terminations that are a few millimetres high.

Accessible bathrooms

An accessible toilet (entrance door 1m in width) is available on the 1st floor and can be reached via the elevator. It can be accessed via the Festsaal foyer. For events in the Hochzeitssaal there is a WC on the 3rd floor with an entrance and cabin door 81 cm wide, the other cabin doors are 56 cm wide. From the 3rd floor as well as from the ground floor you can reach the accessible WC on the 1st floor by using the elevator.

Gender-neutral bathrooms

All bathrooms in the Sophiensælen are marked as gender-neutral. They are marked with pictograms as follows: Sitting toilet and/or standing toilet.

360° Videotour

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Early boarding

There is free seating in the Sophiensaele. If, for artistic reasons, the door to the auditorium does not open until very shortly before the performance begins, there is the option of early boarding. This is the early admission for all people (especially with visible or non-visible disabilities) who want a specific seat or a more relaxed admission. Early Boarding usually starts 10–20 minutes before the performance starts. The meeting point is next to the bar. Five minutes before Early Boarding begins, an on-site announcement will draw your attention to it once again. Our evening staff will be happy to help you find the meeting point. If you need a beanbag or wheelchair seat, please book it online via our webshop.

Contact

For further information and registration please contact us at: 030 27 89 00 35 or barrierefreiheit@sophiensaele.com