Activists occupy Berlin theatre to protest appointment of ex-Tate director

Protests against the appointment of Chris Dercon, a former director of Tate Modern, as Director of the radical Volksbühne theatre reached a climax on Friday when art collective ‘Dust to Glitter’ moved into the auditorium. Since his appointment was announced in 2015, Dercon – who took up the reins last month – has been harassed on social media, a petition has been started against him and faeces were left in front of his office. Responding to the current occupation, Dercon labelled the protestors “irresponsible” and said they had “put their concerns above the safety of our employees and their own audience”.