Craft Theatre will present their latest production, devised on ‘Shalateger’ by Hanns Johst (Poet Laurette to the Third Reich), to Waterloo East Theatre from the 3rd October.
Clare, A young woman at university happens upon an English translation of a play written by Hitler’s favourite playwright and it upsets her entire world view. She can’t help but see strong parallels in how the media was manipulated then, and now. Filled with anxiety that the world she lives in is not as noble as everyone is led to believe, she digs deeper, and deeper and deeper. Jumps down a rabbit hole that eventually isolates her from everyone she knows and loves. Her friends shun her, her parents demean her, her work fires her, her teachers expel her. If the truth is the truth then why won’t anyone listen? Her anger consumes her. Her thoughts turn extreme, she finds extremists to confide in… and they begin planning, something dangerous..
On Clare’s quest for truth, does she become her worst fear, or reveal her worst fear?
For this production, Craft Theatre takes Hanns Johst’s Schlageter, an expression of Nazi ideology, with all of its very real Nazi perspective, and juxtaposed the piece with contemporary political rhetoric from leaders around the globe and asks how far do the similarities go?
Throughout, The Nazi Comparison uses realism combined with occasional dark humour to tell the story of a human awakening, aligning the emotional revelations on stage with the personal realisations that the audience members themselves are encouraged to experience.
In order to do this, Craft’s founder and director; Rocky Rodriguez Jr, uses cognitive neuroscience and techniques inspired by legendary theatre director and theorist Jerzy Grotowski, to forge an original way of working, with the aim of promoting powerful, and authentic acting and connection.
Craft Theatre is a leading fringe theatre company who stand for creating opportunities for debate, discussion, activism and community connection, for those that are looking for ways to be active, for ways to support their core values and to combat hate.
A Nazi Comparison will play at the Waterloo East Theatre from the 3rd to the 29th October. For more information visit: http://www.waterlooeast.co.uk/a%20nazi%20comparison.html