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David Bowie's 1978 Concerts to Debut as Immersive Experience in Berlin
Confirmed
In Short: The Berlin International Film Festival will host the world premiere of 'Stage,' an immersive concert experience featuring rare footage from David Bowie's 1978 Earls Court shows.
Produced in collaboration with Brett Morgen, known for his acclaimed documentary 'Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,' 'Stage' will debut at the 77th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2027.
The project draws on previously unseen 35mm footage shot during Bowie's Isolar II World Tour, which launched in March 1978 and concluded in December of the same year.
Bowie had originally planned to release the footage alongside the live album as an alternative for touring, but he later claimed he 'simply didn’t like the way' it was shot.
The immersive experience will recreate the atmosphere of Bowie's concerts, focusing on material from his 'Berlin Trilogy' albums 'Low' and 'Heroes,' which explored a more experimental direction.
In addition to the Berlin premiere, 'Stage' will also be featured at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange from July 16 to August 30, 2027, as part of a broader celebration of Bowie's legacy.
Mark Grimmer, co-founder and Studio Director of Studio 59, emphasized the show's aim to celebrate Bowie as a champion of human creativity, rather than focusing on the familiar mythology of his personas.
Tickets for the Berlin debut go on sale on October 30, with a presale beginning on October 28.
The immersive experience is part of the Bowie80 initiative, a global series of events, releases, collaborations, and fan experiences extending throughout 2027.
The initiative aims to gather fashion, photography, orchestral music, immersive exhibitions, and Bowie's enormous archive under one anniversary banner.
Rob Hallett, founder of Wonderworld and former president of AEG International, said, 'To have this world premiere in Berlin, a city so closely connected to David Bowie, makes the experience especially meaningful.'
What this adds
The immersive experience in Berlin marks a new collaboration with Lightroom and a homecoming for Bowie to Brighton Dome, after his 1973 ban.
Background
The Berlin Film Festival will world premiere Brett Morgen's immersive concert experience 'Stage,' featuring previously unseen footage of David Bowie.
What's confirmed
- The Berlin Film Festival has announced it will world premiere U.S. documentarian Brett Morgen ’s immersive concert experience David Bowie “Stage ” during its 77th edition in the city’s 17,000-capacity Uber Arena venue.
- Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle called the event “a dream come true” for the festival.
What's still developing
- Bowie himself is the sole voice heard throughout, but this is an opportunity for audiences to open ourselves up to new experiences and encourage an “omnivorous cultural hunger” as Mark Grimmer, the co-founder and Studio Director of Studio 59, and who wrote and directed the production stated today.
- Produced by London immersive venue Lightroom and designed by Studio 59, David Bowie: You’re Not Alone surrounds audiences with 11-metre-high projected walls and an expansive open floor, drawing on thousands of hours of material from the David Bowie Archive in New York.
- Rather than concentrating on the familiar mythology of Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane and the Thin White Duke, the production looks behind the masks to the man himself, that is, Bowie the artist, thinker and relentless creative chameleon.
- With a creative hand on the helm of this august venue, she and her creative team are making ambitious use of the newly transformed Corn Exchange, exploring new forms of audience engagement and opening up the building to experiences that sit somewhere between performance, exhibition, cinema and installation.
- There is, however, more to this announcement than another major touring production coming to Brighton.
- Home / David Bowie Is Returning to the Stage in an Unexpected Way David Bowie David Bowie’s legendary performances will return to the stage through an immersive concert experience featuring rare footage.
- The spirit of late pop and rock icon David Bowie is set to return to Berlin, the city he called home in the mid-1970s.
- That ‘Stage’ show was in celebration of Bowie’s iconic ‘Heroes’ album, and has remained untouched in the David Bowie archives for almost 50 years.
- The shows – considered among the best live performances of his career – sat untouched in the Bowie Archives for decades.
- It will play during the Berlin Film Festival, representing a rare foray into alternative programming at the European film event.
- Nordstrom is partnering with Bowie80 for immersive shops at its Seattle, New York City and Chicago flagships, alongside an online collection.
Sources
- Brighton and Hove Newslink
- Crave Onlinelink
- Deadlinelink
- Nmelink
- Paste Magazinelink
- Rock News UKlink
- Rolling Stonelink
- The Hollywood Reporterlink
- Thechenabtimeslink
- UNCUTlink
- Varietylink
- Thatericalperlink
- WarpBeat — background on David Bowie's 'Stage' Immersive Concert Experience to World Premiere at Berlin Film Festival link