Lights Up on the Dark: The Holocaust Onstage
Lights Up on the Dark: The Holocaust Onstage
Podcast Description
Blending performing arts and history, LUOTD delves into what it means to represent the Holocaust onstage. Co-hosting from London and New York, theatre historian Samantha Mitschke and actor Alexandra Gellner discuss all things Holocaust-theatre. Bringing their perspectives as Holocaust educators, the pair look at how theatre can help with teaching and learning about the Holocaust as they offer fresh and thought-provoking insights.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast delves into diverse themes focusing on Holocaust education, theatre adaptations, and the historical context of performances, with episodes addressing crucial topics such as the cultural life in the Terezin ghetto, the representation of antisemitism in plays like 'Our Class', and adaptations of significant works such as 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'. Discussions also consider the impact of these themes on current educational practices and societal perceptions.
Blending performing arts and history, LUOTD delves into what it means to represent the Holocaust onstage.
Co-hosting from London and New York, theatre historian Samantha Mitschke and actor Alexandra Gellner discuss all things Holocaust-theatre. Bringing their perspectives as Holocaust educators, the pair look at how theatre can help with teaching and learning about the Holocaust as they offer fresh and thought-provoking insights.
Content warning: this episode contains references to disordered eating.
In this week’s episode, Alex and Dr Sam talk to Professor Lisa Peschel – whose interviews with Czech survivors of Terezin/Theresienstadt led to the discovery of numerous scripts, previously thought lost, of the performances staged inside the ghetto. This led to the publication in German, Czech and English of Performing Captivity, Performing Escape, a collection of 12 of these scripts.
The trio discuss elements including the historical background of Terezin/Theresienstadt; the cultural life in the ghetto; Lisa’s interviews; her experiences of working with the plays, including reactions from students; and the potential highlights and challenges for educators. Lisa gives a reading of the book’s epilogue, the satirical yet poignant New Year’s Eve in the Oederan Slave-Labor Camp. Overall, the discussion considers how the plays allow students and teachers to gain an insight into the lives and experiences of the people who created and performed them.
Some sound issues were experienced during recording – thank you for bearing with us!
Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner
Guest: Lisa Peschel
Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke
Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner
Music: “Image” by Infraction Music
Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/
Plays
Lisa Peschel (ed.) (2014) Performing Captivity, Performing Escape: Cabarets and Plays from the Terezín/Theresienstadt Ghetto. Seagull Books.
Other sources
Visit the Performing the Jewish Archive website to explore a vast range of material, including a video recording of The Smoke of Home.
To learn more about Lisa and her work, please visit the University of York website.
To request a full list of resources for this episode, please use this form.
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