The revue theatre Friedrichstadt Palace in East Berlin, which was built 1981-1984 after a design by Manfred Prasser, epitomises some of the fundamental contradictions within the “first socialist state on German soil.” The building was one of the East German rulers’ most conspicuous concessions to the vanities of Marxian superstructure and a well-received attempt to add a touch of colour to their notoriously dull and grey capital city. The Friedrichstadt Palace not only hosted popular TV shows such as Ein Kessel Buntes (A pot full of colours) that aimed at distracting from the monotonous East German everyday life, but also its gaudy design with abundant historic references marked a break with the functionalist aesthetic of earlier public buildings. The Friedrichstadt Palace exemplifies an East German version of post-modernism. Emulating Western European and American entertainment architecture the socialist leaders intended to boost the GDR’s image in the West and respond to their own citizens’ desire for pop culture and consumerism.