| Title | File type | Publiseringsdato | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sesongprogram for Teaterhuset Avant Garden høst 1996 | August 1996 | Download |
Voices from Theresienstadt
Voices from Theresienstadt (1995) was a production by Teater Dybbuk.
Information
(Objekt ID 22000)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | May 13, 1995 |
| Produced by | Teater Dybbuk - Oslo |
| Based on | Voices from Theresienstadt by Ilse Weber, Bente Kahan, Ellen Foyn Bruun |
| Audience | Adults, Youth (from 15) |
| Language | Norwegian, Yiddish, English, German and Yiddish |
| Keywords | Cabaret, Solo, Musical theatre, Documentary theatre |
| Running period | May 13, 1995 — 2005 |
| Website | BENTE KAHAN |
At the webpage of Teater Dybbuk the following, among other things, is written about Voices from Theresienstadt:
"A monodrama about five women who come from different countries, are of different ages, social class and professions. The one thing they all have in common is that they are Jewish and their paths have crossed in Theresienstadt, the 'paradise' ghetto. Each has a story to tell and each resolves her unique dilemma in her own, sometimes unexpected, way. All the words of the songs were mainly written in German, in the ghetto Theresienstadt/Terezin during WWII. The cabaret music was either written in the ghetto or taken from popular operettas.
The concert and CD are available in three versions - German, English and Norwegian."
After the world wide premiere in Oslo under the title Stemmer fra Theresienstadt the production was performed at Agder Theatre and theatres in Stockholm and Copenhagen.
In 1996 the play was translated into the German, using the title Morgen fängt das Leben an, with visiting performances at theatres in Dresden (Theaterkahn) and a week in Berlin (Theater Tribüne). Later other visiting performances were performed at theatres in different German cities.
The production was translated into the English in 1997 (Voices from Theresienstadt) and was performed at The West End Theatre in London for three weeks (June 3-July 4).
Later it has been performed as a visiting performance in USA (venues including United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), in Poland, Israel and The Czech Republic.
1n 2005 the production had its Polish premiere clad in Polish language, using the title Glosy z Theresienstadt (translated by Aleksander Gleichgewicht). Bente Kahan directed five Polish actors in the play that had once been a monodrama.
Sources:
E-mail from Bente Kahan, 14.11.2008
Teater Dybbuk, bentekahan.eu, 12.10.2012, http://www.bentekahan.eu/p_voices_from_theresienstadt.php
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Ilse Weber | – Text |
| Ellen Foyn Bruun | – Concept/Idea |
| Bente Kahan | – Concept/Idea |
| Ellen Foyn Bruun | – Direction |
| Bente Kahan (from 2005) | – Direction |
| Marie Therese Cappello | – Stage design |
| Helena Gleichgewicht | – Stage design |
| Bente Kahan | – Musical arrangement |
| Astrid Bjerke | – Lighting design |
| Bente Kahan | – Actor |
| Thor Haukness | – Musician (in Norway (piano, trekkspill)) |
| Miroslaw Kuzniak | – Musician (in Norway, Germany and England (fele)) |
| Dariusz Swinoga | – Musician (in Norway, Germany and England (piano, trekkspill)) |
| Asbjørn Sagstad | – Producer |
| 2005 | New opening |
| July 4, 1997 – The West End Theatre | Show |
| June 3, 1997 – The West End Theatre | Show |
| September 12, 1996 – Teaterhuset Avant Garden | Show |
| 1996 – Theaterkahn | Show |
| 1996 – Theater Tribüne | Show |
| Navember 1995 | Show |
| May 13, 1995 – Caféscenen, Centralteatret, Oslo Nye Teater (Oslo New Theatre) | Worldwide premiere |
Writer unknown, 05.1995, Morgenbladet [Oslo]:
"With a voice filled with horror and beauty and a body language reminiscent of the expressive conventions of the silent movie, this is not theatre for those with a weak heart. (...) The performance is never reduced to Shoa - the way I would have seen it had I been there, because Bente Kahan has an impressive ability to set limits and create distance. She constantly moves on the edge of a cliff, but never takes that last step. Her acting is passionate, but never sentimental."
Writer unknown, 1997, The Independent [London]:
"…powerful and important…"