About the work
"Der letzte Himmel" ("The Last Sky: My Search for Palestine") is an autobiographically grounded theatre evening by the German-Palestinian journalist Alena Jabarine at the Berliner Ensemble. Its starting point is Jabarine's own experience: in 2020 she moved to Ramallah for three years. From her everyday life there, the evening tells stories and takes the audience to concrete places between Jerusalem, Ramallah and Bethlehem.
Plot
Rather than a grand political thesis, "Der letzte Himmel" gathers scenes and stories from daily life: the alleyways of Jerusalem, beauty salons in Ramallah, the rooftops of refugee camps in Bethlehem. Through these precise observations a layered, personal portrait of Palestinian everyday life emerges – its people, their routines, their humour and their longings. The title takes up the literary phrase of the "last sky" (Mahmoud Darwish; Edward Said / Jean Mohr, "After the Last Sky") and frames Jabarine's search for home and belonging.
Cultural significance
With "Der letzte Himmel", the Berliner Ensemble brings a personal, journalistically grounded Palestinian perspective to the stage – a subject that attracts particular attention given the political moment. By foregrounding the everyday and the concrete, the evening sets lived experience against the abstraction of the conflict. An accompanying book publication (2025) extends the project beyond the stage.