UPCOMING PRODUCTION

“Fear and Misery of the Third Reich,” was written by world-renowned literary genius, German playwright, poet, and theatrical reformer Bertolt Brecht and translated by John Willet.  This documentary play presents a sequence of twenty four realistic scenes showing how ordinary life under Nazi Germany was subtly permeated by suspicion and anxiety. For our forthcoming production, we have chosen the following scenes: the chalk cross, the informer, the Jewish wife, workers’ radio program, and referendum. The scenes, which do not  necessarily play out in chronological order but are rather knit together thematically, play like frames in a film running through Nazis’ years capturing a panorama of social breakdown, deception, betrayal, disaffection, disaffiliation and flight. Brecht’s harshly satirical take on Nazi Germany is a well balanced mix of humor and tragedy that  shows how thought and action can become paralyzed in a fascist state, and it urges the audience to learn and experience from their history. The play is also relevant under today's political climate, and offers a view on the regimes around the world that are oppressive, manipulative, dishonest, corrupt, and create fear and misery in their societies.