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How did Trude Hesterberg manage to scrape together the funds necessary to set up her own Cabaret? To earn her living she sang the title role of the Operetta "The Merry Widow" by Franz Lehar. She commuted every day between the Metropol Theatre in Friedrichstrasse and her cellar theatre at Theater des Westens. Her partners were, amongst other people, Kurt Tucholsky, Walter Mehring, Klabund and Joachim Ringelnatz. She gave Bert Brecht his first break on a Berlin stage. She discovered the performer Kate Kühl.Famous actors, such as Kurt Gerron, also acted for her. In the film "The Wild Stage" the acrobats and musicians of the GOSH circus, a well-known group of artists, transform themselves into the protagonists of the time. They portray the characters of Trude Hesterberg, Walter Mehring, Kurt Tucholsky and Joachim Ringelnatz, singing their songs and reciting their literary work.
Also featured are the president of the Reich Friedrich Ebert, a leader of the Black Brigade, supporters of the "Reds" and Nazi representatives. As beggars, prostitutes, cripples and loiterers on the street, they attempt to sketch a picture of the Weimar Republic.