The Stage Online
Reviews
I Can Cry!
Survival stories are always gripping. Those that also include the cruelty towards fellow human beings that the Nazis inflicted upon the Jews and others across Europe are absolutely enthralling.
The construction of Miri Ben-Shalomıs tale, a documentary play based on the experiences of her aunt, Ester Herschberger, speaks across the 60-odd years since the end of the war.
Joy McBrinn, as the older Ester, sits centre stage throughout narrating Esterıs life story with a calm, matter-of-fact delivery that somehow emphasises the true horrors experienced.
And what horrors. Between the ages of 15 and 20 Herschberger survived not only two ghettos in Warsaw, but also Auschwitz-Birkenau, Bergen-Belsen and a third death camp. There are no clues as to how she coped except for the strength of her spirit - a real triumph of will.
Emma Paterson lives the part of the younger Ester, managing to combine her enforced adulthood and the suppressed child within as well as her ceaseless energy and vulnerability. It is a more than credible performance. Bodo Friesecke has the unenviable task of playing a variety of Nazi guards and officers. That this tale can be told is a reminder not only of what happened but also of the fact that the Nazis were crushed and must never be allowed to return.
Jeremy Austin Friday 17 March 2006 12:50 PM
Production information
Pentameters, London, March 14-April 9
Author:
Miri Ben-Shalom
Director:
Lester Richards
Producers:
Sandy Kattan and Miri Ben-Shalom
Cast:
Joy McBrinn, Emma Paterson, Bodo Friesecke
Running time:
1hr 20mins
Production information can change over the run of the show.