We delve into the story of the Cosy Corner, an innocuous gay bar in Weimar era Berlin where a young English writer became captivated by the characters he met and found his first love(s). When Christopher Isherwood first wrote about his experiences in his short stories, collected as his Berlin Diaries in the 1930’s, he put in motion and interpretation of Weimar Berlin that would become iconic when it was adapted into the musical Cabaret.
The Cosy Corner was not the most exciting queer space in Berlin. It was not the most radical, nor the most beautiful, and there would not have been room for Liza Minelli to execute a high-kick (if she had been welcome there at all). But it was the queer space that most entranced Christopher and, by going back to look at this bar, we hope to find out why, and how, this little place leapt into the queer canon and helped define the myth of Berlin.
Podchaser is the ultimate destination for podcast data, search, and discovery. Learn More