StoryOase International Storytelling Festival

From September 11 to 13, 2026, the Kulturinsel in Berlin’s Ernst-Thälmann-Park will be transformed into a place for listening. Fifteen storytellers from ten countries will share stories from around the world in German and English—poetic, humorous, moving, and inspiring. The open-air festival invites you to listen together, be amazed, and discover new perspectives. Admission is free.

Storytelling is the oldest and most primordial form of performing art. No props, no set design, no technology—just language, facial expressions, gestures, and a direct connection with the audience. Storytellers don’t simply read aloud; they tell stories freely. With linguistic presence and spontaneous expressiveness, they create images in the listeners’ minds. It’s no coincidence that storytelling is also called “cinema in the mind.” It creates shared spaces of imagination and connects people across generations, languages, and experiences.

Program:

Friday, September 11, 2026, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Story Cocktail

Saturday, September 12, 2026, starting at 6:00 p.m.

Three outstanding performances

Sunday, September 13, 2026, starting at 5:00 p.m.

Irish dance workshop, live music, and ceilidh

The Storytellers at the Story Oasis:

• Stephe Harrop (Liverpool)
• Mari Qviller (Oslo)
• Alexandra Kampmeier (Mühlau, Saxony)
• Hamid Saneij (Iran)
• Darinka Ramirez (Mexico City)
• Varsha Venkatesh (Gujarat, Western India, and Berlin)
• Christine Lander (Berlin), co-director of the “Geschichtentheater” series at the Humboldt Forum
• Britta Wilmsmeier (Berlin, Storytellers Without Borders)
• Sven Tjaben (Berlin): Director of the Erzählbühne in Berlin
• and, as musicians, Illay Chester and Meera Eilabouni, a Jewish-Palestinian female duo from Israel.