Featured image: Zuzana Kronerova, Hot Summer '68, GUnaGU Theatre, photograph by Ctibor Bachraty
Opening with the events of the Holocaust, Tamas Reczei’s Ghetto Love elaborates on the aftermath of World War II and examines the post-traumatic experiences of subsequent generations. The play is based on a real story: in Auschwitz, a Jewish boy saves a Gypsy girl by dragging her into a latrine. This unexpected, selfless act leads to their marriage.
After the survivor ages and grows terminally ill, his wife, daughter, and granddaughter visit his doctor. The women reveal their own stories and sorrows by means of inner monologue. We can hear their questions and the overlapping issues they deal with, however, we can only guess the answers. Dialectical tensions loom large. Jewishness and communism, assimilation and self-deception, constraint and voluntariness. The play touches on sensitive themes as Jewish-Gypsy cohabitation as well as how psychological burdens impact the second and third generations of Holocaust survivors.
Ghetto Love (Hungary). Playwright: Tamas Reczei. Director: Lisa Arrindell. Cast: Jane Arnfield (Edit), Rebecca Gever (Eszter), Kathryn Grody (Emese). Translated by: Borbala Rieger. Running time: 90 min.
For more information, visit www.rehearsalfortruth.org.
The reading is followed by Q&A. It is free and open to the public. Suggested donation $10. Donations benefit the Best Mini-Drama Student Contest program.
The event will be broadcasted online, live on Zoom. RSVP is required to receive the Zoom link. RSVP online through Eventbrite.
ABOUT THE 2021 SPRING WEEKEND: CONCERNING HUMAN IDENTITY
The 2021 Spring Weekend: Concerning Human Identity is organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation (VHLF) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA) in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Consulate General of Slovakia in New York. Spring Weekend is part of the annual Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival honoring the playwright and human rights activist Vaclav Havel. It showcases contemporary European plays through stage readings performed and directed by New York City–based actors and directors.
The 2021 program has been conceived in consultation with Attila Szabo, Deputy Director, Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute; Vladislava Fekete, Director, Theatre Institute in Bratislava; Zuzana Ulicianska, Chair of the Slovak Center – International Association of Theatre Critics; Tomek Smolarski, Performing Arts Programming, Polish Cultural Institute New York; and Martina Peckova-Cerna, Head of International Cooperation Department, Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and Council Member Ben Kallos. Promotion partners include the Czech Center New York, GOH Productions/Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre, and PACE.V4 (Performing Arts Central Europe).