A Production of Shakespeare Reloaded
Written & Directed by Shakrah Yves
Choreography by Alexandra Karaa
May 27, 28, 30, 31 & June 1st
Theater Forum Kreuzberg
Eisenbahnstraße 21, 10997 Berlin
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Our Production is…
An Evening of Works written by and inspired by Edgar Allan Poe
in English
The shadow of the Raven Act 1. ~65 min
Intermission ~ 15 min
The shadow of the Raven Act 2. ~ 70 min
Ticket reservation Phone: 030 700 71 710
Box office opens 1 hour before start of performance
Free choice of seats
Cash payment only!
Reduced price tickets 14 Euros: Students with ID, Senors, Disabled, Groups from 10 People
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Welcome, dear guests, to An Evening of in the world of Edgar Allan Poe —
A journey into the eerie, elegant mind of Edgar Allan Poe, a man who turned heartbreak, mystery, and midnight musings into art that still haunts us today. You don’t need to know Poe yet — he’ll introduce himself through letters, poems, and stories that shimmer with beauty and tremble with dread. Did you know he practically invented the detective story, decades before Sherlock Holmes? Or that he married his 13-year-old cousin, loved cats obsessively, and that he was the first American writer to try making a living solely through his writing? He also had a fierce rivalry with other writers, often delivering biting critiques under false names.
His style is rich with musical rhythm, vivid imagery, and a chilling elegance that lingers long after the final word. Poe was obsessed with the idea that love and death are inseparable, often writing about women who die young but never fade from memory. For him, grief wasn’t just sorrow— it was a muse. His most famous poem, The Raven, made him a literary star— and a living ghost in his own lifetime.
And now, a riddle to set the tone: “I never met Shakespeare, yet I knew how to stage a tragedy in a single heartbeat — who am I?”
(You’ll know by the final bow.)
May you find in our show a shadowed beauty that lingers long after the final breath!
Shadow of the Raven:
A Gothic Chamber Symphony
In this haunting dream ballet, Edgar Allan Poe’s fractured psyche unfolds through a tapestry of shadow and sound where his poems materialize as living tableaux. You’ll witness Poe’s consciousness split between two performers—one haunted and alcoholic, one passionate and grief-stricken—as they navigate his tragic love for the ethereal Virginia (Lenore) and his descent into madness. Six Ravens—manifestations of Poe’s darkest thoughts—shape-shift between human forms and bird-like creatures, manipulating the stage environment with Butoh-inspired movements that blur the boundary between reality and nightmare.
This experimental gothic tone poem blends biography with surrealism as it traverses Poe’s life from childhood abandonment to military service, literary struggles, Virginia’s consumption, and his mysterious death. The production’s uniqueness lies in its sensory immersion experimental percussion accompanies the Ravens’ movements, while actors manipulate handheld lights to cast elongated shadows across symbolist backdrops. The physical vocabulary ranges from balletic grace to grotesque contortion, with Lenore’s dance transforming from starlight fluidity to the halting movements of illness.
How the story Unflolds
ACT 1
1 Evening Star – Poe recites celestial poetry in darkness as a mysterious feminine figure appears and vanishes.
2 Death Report – Multiple narrators debate the circumstances of Poe’s mysterious final days in Baltimore.
3 Youth – A glimpse into Poe’s troubled childhood and the adoption that would shape his complex identity.
4 Storm – Poe confronts powerful natural forces in a dynamic movement sequence representing his inner turmoil.
5 Drinking Ale Today – University exploits and military service reveal Poe’s growing conflicts with society and authority.
6 Dream of Salome – A dreamlike dance sequence explores the dangerous allure of beauty and desire.
7 To Helen – Poe encounters transcendent beauty, illuminating his idealized vision of love.
8 United Again – The controversial reunion with his young cousin Virginia transforms Poe’s personal life.
9 Bridal Ballad – The bittersweet marriage ceremony brings momentary joy shadowed by whispered concerns.
10 A Dark Cloud – Literary rivalries and the first signs of Virginia’s illness bring new pressures to Poe’s world.
11 Tragedy Strikes – Virginia’s health deteriorates dramatically as Poe struggles against impending loss.
12 City in the Sea – Poe’s grief transforms into one of his most haunting poetic landscapes.
13 Annabel Lee – In mourning, Poe crafts enduring verses about love that transcends death.
14 To One in Paradise – Poe oscillates between denial and acceptance of his devastating loss.
15 Conquering Worm – A grotesque dance sequence embodies Poe’s darkest meditations on mortality.
16 The Fall – Poe wanders through increasingly strange encounters in the streets of Baltimore.
17 Funeral – Observers offer varied perspectives on Poe’s complex legacy at his solemn funeral.
18 Buried Alive – One of Poe’s most terrifying obsessions is dramatized as reality and fiction blur.
19 Silver Bells – The cacophonous poem “The Bells” builds to a frenzied crescendo closing Act I.
ACT 11
1 A Dream– Lenore returns in ethereal form, dancing between worlds of the living and dead.
2 Dreamland – A journey through sublime landscapes where memory and fantasy intertwine.
3 Haunted Palace – The metaphorical deterioration of a once-magnificent mind is dramatized.
4 A Dream Within a Dream – Reality dissolves as Poe questions whether all existence might be illusion.
5 The Raven – Creative brilliance and personal torment intertwine in Poe’s increasingly fragmented experience.
6 Fracture – The boundaries between Poe and his literary creations begin to dissolve.
7 Twin Shadows – Poe confronts his divided self and the dualities that defined his existence.
8 Becoming a Raven – The transformation begins as Poe merges with his most famous creation.
9 Spirits of the Dead – Communing with departed souls as the veil between worlds grows thin.
10 Raven Finale – The iconic confrontation between Poe and the Raven reaches its dramatic conclusion.
11 Transformation – Poe’s ultimate transcendence suggests how his art achieved a haunting immortality.
A Personal Letter from the Principal Actress
As you take your seats and the lights begin to dim, I want to share something personal with you—something that lives between the folds of this performance and the pulse of my own story. Stepping into the shadow of Edgar Allan Poe has been like stepping into a mirror made of fog: I had to lose myself to find him, and in doing so, I found pieces of myself I never expected. Becoming Allan—the darker, grieving side of Poe—meant learning to balance between contradictions: between light and darkness, storm and calm, heart and death. I stood on the shifting shoreline of his mind, where sea meets shore, where the soul brushes against the unknown.
As a queer woman living in the digital age, the task of embodying a 19th-century man, both haunted and haunting, felt at first like wearing a ghost’s clothes. But then I remembered: grief knows no era, and longing speaks across time. My mother died when I was twelve, and I’ve had my heart broken many times —so I understood Poe’s ache, his tender obsessions, his desperate need to find meaning in loss. His poetry speaks to the parts of me that write their own morbid verses late at night, when the world is quiet and the shadows lean in.
I studied Poe’s world, his time, the way death was ever-present yet rarely spoken of. I studied his clothes—elegant, yes, but not quite beautiful—and let them shape how I moved, how I stood, how I saw. And still, I wasn’t imitating a man; I was searching for a spirit. The climax of my character work was the transition into the raven, not as an imitation of a bird, but as a guardian angel of darkness, a creature born from my own grief and vision. I watched ravens, yes—but I found my own wings, my own way of guiding Allan into the shadows where he could finally rest.
What I hope to leave you with, before I meet you on stage, is this: Poe was not just a man of darkness—he was someone always reaching for the light he could never quite hold. And maybe, tonight, in the theatre, together, we can touch that edge of the unknown—not to understand it, but to feel it. Let the shadows welcome you. Sincerely yours, Sarah
A Production of Shakespeare Reloaded.
Written & Directed by Shakrah Yves
Choreography by Alexandra Karaa
SHAKRAH YVES
Writer Director Art Director
An interdisciplinary artist. She studied film and video production and post production, Performance art and Painting; completing a Bachelor of fine arts at ‘The California College of the Arts. She studied Theater arts at The Brava Theater, and gained experience in costume design, repair and construction at the major San Francisco theaters.
She began directing, stage managing and making films professionally while in university. She Adapted and directed a book of Poetry for the first time at the San Francisco University in 2003.
She later worked as an art director for independent films, as an assistant fashion stylist for Rebecca Weinberg and fashion designer Adrienne Landau in New York City in 2010.2010-2012 she sold her own fashion designs in local boutiques. In 2012 she formed her own Early Jazz bands, Singing, and building hats and costumes.
From 2024-2018 she studied and worked in Software development. After setting up in Berlin in 2016 she formed a new jazz band and in 2018 returned to the stage as an actor with Shakespeare Reloaded. 2020-2024 she was married and is raised two small children.
Production Design
Costume Design
Set & Prop Design
Sound Design and Engineering
Lighting Design
Production Management
By Shakrah Yves
Make-up
Laura Rajowitz Renata
Kilmukhametova
Photography & Videograph
Leander Justen
Website
Darren Thomas & Shakrah Yves
Program
Renata Kilmukhametova
Special thanks to:
Alan Ward – Scenic Engineer
Gero Konietzko – 2d Rendering, Prop donations, costume Rentals
Ensemble Building workshop
Katharine Stankiewicz
Part-time stage Manager
Alessia Molteni
Acting Workshop
Maria Chotou
Musiscian & Sound Engineer
Harald Fiedler
Kellani Bergan
Theater
Haus Mitte
ENSAMBLE
Shadow of the Raven
Sarah-Isabella Behrens
Allan Poe
Sarah-Isabella Behrens (Allan) – born in Kiel, where the wind teaches you early how to stay curious and keep your balance. “Allan” is her first acting role as a lead. She studied acting in Berlin (STARTER Berliner Schauspielschule für Film und Fernsehen and die Schauspielfabrik
Berlin) and New York City (the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute) diving into the craft not just to perform, but to grow, stretch, and embrace the beautiful chaos of becoming someone
else. She is drawn to Method acting for its depth, but she also loves the spontaneity of improv—especially when it involves inventing imaginary worlds and unlikely plot twists. Whe she is not chasing dramatic truth on stage, she is literally chasing finish lines in half marathons. Oh, and she once studied China studies in Hangzhou—because saying yes to the unknown is kind of her thing.
Garri Saganenko
Edgar Poe
Garri Saganenko is an actor and author who lives in Berlin. He is originally from the United States. His acting experience includes playing in adaptations of “Pinocchio” with The Actor’s Circle Berlin as well as several acting courses with Instant Theatre Berlin. In 2023 he was awarded a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant to complete his debut book, 180 Pounds of Poet Meat. The role of “Poe” in Shadow of the Raven is his first leading role.
Alexandra Karaa
Lenore
Born in Florence, Alexandra Fatouma is italo-tunisian. She is a professional dancer – choreographer – actress and coach for expressive arts. She has danced in theaters around the world including Anjkun ballet theater (New York City), Theater Hurghada (Egypt), Ballet Augsburg, Theater Nordhausen, and Ballett Musikalische Komödie Leipzig. She has taken part in award winning films such as Lebedig and Ono by M. Siebert, and Nulpen by S. Gajewski.
She is a passionate freelance art coach, collaborating with the Staatlische Schule für Artistik Berlin, Deutsche Eislauf Union, International Skating Union. She is currently co-creating a method of personal development that combines neuro-science, the emotions and expressive arts.She believes art is the Universal science of the soul, connecting human beings and breaking down barriers.
Katerina Konstantinidi
Lilith
Katerina is a versatile actress from Greece, currently based in Berlin.
She holds training from Royal Holloway, University of London, and Catalyst Institute in Berlin, where she developed a strong foundation in both classical stage performance and contemporary screen acting. Her background also includes physical theatre and dance, which enrich her work with a distinctive physical expressiveness and emotional depth. Whether on stage or in front of the camera, Katerina brings a grounded yet dynamic energy to her roles.
Nicolò Rossi
Hermes & Nathaniel
Nicolò Rossi, was born in Venice in Italy. He studied acting at the Teatro Avogaria – Scuola Giovanni Poli. He was an ensemble member of Indiana Teatro: and performed in “Of mice and men”, A midsummer night’s dream,” “Waiting for Godot.” Member of Shakespeare Reloaded, played recently in “The Taming of the Shrew.” He is currently cast as “Hermes” in “Shadow of the Raven” & “Nathaniel in The Angel of the Odd.”
Renata Kilmukhametova
Endora
Endora marks Renata’s latest stage role. Previous credits include Twelve Angry Men and a reimagining of Spoon River Anthology by Edgar Lee Masters, both directed by Alessandro Casadio, as well as appearances in several short films. Renata studied performance and continues to deepen her craft through ongoing training. She is also a visual artist, working primarily in oil painting and other forms of expressionistic art.
Gero Konietzko
‘Dion’ Dionysos
Gero has been performing in Berlin’s vibrant theater scene since 2010, with roles ranging from the manic Orin Scrivello in Little Shop of Horrors to the stern Professor Callahan in Legally Blonde, and the erratic Ralph Wiley in Reefer Madness. In Shakespeare Reloaded’s latest production he is appearing as Dion—one of the ravens—in Shadow of the Raven. Loosely inspired by Dionysos, the character tempts Poe into a spiral of indulgence and excess. Offstage, Gero enjoys swing dancing and acrobatics, bringing a strong sense of movement and presence to every role.
Alan Ward
‘Andy’ Anubis
Alan Ward has been a member of the International Theatre Group Berlin working with directors, Inka Palm and Minna Partenen. He performed in IPTB’s production of “High on Society.He has since performed with Alejandro Niklison and Neele Reimann-Philipp in the play “Work In Progress” – written by Alejandro Niklison and directed by Amy Nolan.
I like to write short stories and poetry but particularly enjoy being on stage working on other writers works as well as my own. He is currently enjoying playing the role of “Andy” ( Anubis ) the Raven – Steam Punk god of the underworld!