Kindertransport

Kindertransport, by Diane Samuels
Oaklands Drama Group
25th - 28th February 2009
at Ruislip-Northwood Liberal Synagogue

Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, and following the “Kristallnacht” atrocities perpetuated against German Jews, the British government was persuaded to offer temporary sanctuary to 10,000 endangered Jewish children from Europe. The rescue mission, known as Kindertransport, saw thousands of unaccompanied children, up to the age of 17, being placed in British homes, hostels and farms. Less than a year later many of the German-born youngsters found themselves interned as enemy aliens. Hardly any of these children ever saw their natural parents again, as most of them were victims of the Nazi regime. Not only were these children separated from their parents and homes, and brought to a country where they could not even speak the language, but also for many of them there was a legacy of severe and lifelong psychological trauma.

This is the background to the drama “Kinderstransport” by Diane Samuels. It is the story of Eva, the 10-year old daughter of a German/Jewish family living in Hamburg, who experiences an onslaught of conflicting emotions as she grows up to become a woman in northern England. Her sadness at being torn from her close-knit family clashes with the betrayal she feels when her natural parents fail to make it to Britain to join her. Her anguish at discovering that her parents died in a concentration camp is replaced by a cold bitterness when she is finally reunited with her mother, who just about survived. Opting to stay with her adoptive mother, Eva renounces her Judaism, has herself baptised into the Church of England, and changes her name to the more English-sounding Evelyn.

Seen first as a middle-aged mother, Evelyn, played here by Marsha Myers, is on the surface dismissive of her past, shrugging it off as though it is of no consequence, but as the veneer is gradually peered away under the interrogation of her daughter Faith, all the conflicts and anguish rise to the surface. These include guilt, anger, betrayal, and ultimately a disgust for having survived when so many died. Marsha Myers gave a fine performance as Evelyn, a woman tortured by the ghosts of her past, while Suzi Becker, as Faith, effectively portrayed the fury of a girl who discovers that her mother’s version of her past has been a lie, but who eventually comes to terms with reality, and finds forgiveness and resolution.

Hannah Lester played Helga, Eva’s natural mother, and Ingrid Squires played Lil, her adoptive mother in Britain, two women who could not have been more different. Both actresses gave excellent and moving performances, the former conveying the anguish of a mother who knows she may never see her child again, and the latter epitomising the typical northern housewife of early Coronation Street, a rough diamond with a heart of gold. As the teenage Eva, Alexandra Moran expressed cold brutality as she rejected the mother who had barely survived the Holocaust and then searched Europe for her lost daughter. A sinister non-speaking figure, always present on stage, was the Ratcatcher, a character based on the Pied Piper, played by Mark Davidson. His exaggerated expressions reminded me of a silent movie actor, whose function, I thought, was to amplify the emotions often being concealed by the main characters.

The outstanding performance of this Oaklands Drama Group production came from 13-year old Lily Unerman, in her debut performance, as Young Eva. She was the lynchpin of the play, linking scenes set in pre-war Germany and wartime Britain, playing Young Eva as a sweet, innocent girl, wracked by emotion as she is uprooted from everything she ever knew. Not only did young Lily act superbly, but she also spoke excellent German, which she had to learn especially for this role.

This was a gripping and emotional production, expertly directed by Debbie Unerman, and performed on an intriguingly devised set, designed by John Baderman, which doubled, without hindering the flow of the action, as both Germany and England. The Oaklands Drama Group is always keen to recruit new members, regardless of age or experience. Contact mummyu@hotmail.co.uk for more details.

Frank Long