It is July 1942, World War II is raging, and as the play, The Diary of Anne Frank opens, we find a Jewish family, the Franks, hiding in Amsterdam.
The family has just gone into hiding when elder daughter Margo is notified that she must report to a concentration camp, and Otto, the family patriarch, fortuitously buys his 13-year old daughter Anne an autograph book. She will use it as a diary to record her thoughts and feelings, thus becoming the basis for the dramatic presentation of her poignant story.
Director Brook Hall of TheLAB Space has long planned for a production of The Diary of Anne Frank, viewing it as a play of hope and championing the resilience of the human spirit, which can survive under the most challenging conditions. The play begins Friday in Taipei and runs until Sunday.
Photo courtesy of Lee Hsin-chi
PAGE TO STAGE
Literature and drama each has its own intrinsic value, and here we get to see the diary entries acted out, learning from the challenges eight people face as they’re forced to live together in close quarters, where many qualities and nuances of the human experience emerge.
In an early entry, Anne ponders why Jews are discriminated against and persecuted. Later, more perceptions are revealed — Anne’s mixed feelings towards her parents, her maturation, the questioning of love — all come with the joys and sorrows, tensions and pressures of close living, dramatized by the eight cast members “in hiding” and their two Dutch “outside helpers.”
Photo courtesy of Lee Hsin-chi
Additional dramatic tension and irony pervade since we know the tragic ending.
ENDURING RELEVANCE
The power of this play is that it appeals to audiences on many different levels. There is the obvious one, that though World War II ended more than 70 years ago, many vestiges of prejudice and anti-Semitism are still evident in today’s society. Some try to deny the Holocaust while others like white supremacists in the US look to identify with Nazi flags and swastikas.
The greatest of insights to be taken from Anne’s observations of the human condition is how, despite the horrors of persecution, she feels that most people are really good at heart.
Co-produced by Butterfly Effect Theatre and the Israel Economic & Culture Office this presentation of Wendy Kesselmen’s adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank runs for one weekend only. Tickets are nearly sold out, however if you can’t make these performances, don’t despair; a follow up run is planned for April.
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