Fringe 2023 Dreams of Anne Frank theSpaceUK @ Surgeons’ Hall 8th August Review
Dreams of Anne Frank by Bernard Kops and performed by Bath’s Zenith Youth Theatre is at theSpaceUK @ Surgeons’ Hall until August 12.
Bringing any work of theatre to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is always going to be a bit of a gamble as there are so many other productions competing with you for an audience, but you can minimise that risk by re-telling a story that many people already know and one that is relatively easy both in performance and costs to bring to the stage. Dreams of Anne Frank ticks both of these boxes, particularly as the one space attic setting means no other spaces are required for the production. Keep things simple if possible seems to be a golden rule in theatre, and so many classic works of theatre set in one room (or space) prove this time and time again.
Wisely, Bernard Kops has taken the decision to not literally follow Anne Frank’s diary but to give us some idea of the hopes and dreams of a young girl forced to spend over two years in a claustrophobic attic space, unable to leave (along with her family and four other people) for fear of persecution and probable death at the hands of the occupying Nazi forces. Here for once, the small performance space available for this show helps to give us all some sense of just how small this space might have been with eight people living within it, all trying to live their daily lives whilst trying to remain as silent as possible to avoid discovery.
This is a cleverly put together work, a tight script and background music that adds to the period atmosphere of the work. Keeping all of the cast in neutral colours for their costume while making Anne Frank stand out from everyone else in a green dress works well here.
What is really important about this work is that it is being performed by a youth theatre company and it is important that the story of Anne Frank not only be told but re-told by younger people. Only by this happening can we not only always remember what happened, but hopefully limit the possibilities of history repeating itself (although sadly it has done so already across the world too many times since Anne Frank wrote her words and thoughts in her diary).
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
Bringing any work of theatre to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is always going to be a bit of a gamble as there are so many other productions competing with you for an audience, but you can minimise that risk by re-telling a story that many people already know and one that is relatively easy both in performance and costs to bring to the stage. Dreams of Anne Frank ticks both of these boxes, particularly as the one space attic setting means no other spaces are required for the production. Keep things simple if possible seems to be a golden rule in theatre, and so many classic works of theatre set in one room (or space) prove this time and time again.
Wisely, Bernard Kops has taken the decision to not literally follow Anne Frank’s diary but to give us some idea of the hopes and dreams of a young girl forced to spend over two years in a claustrophobic attic space, unable to leave (along with her family and four other people) for fear of persecution and probable death at the hands of the occupying Nazi forces. Here for once, the small performance space available for this show helps to give us all some sense of just how small this space might have been with eight people living within it, all trying to live their daily lives whilst trying to remain as silent as possible to avoid discovery.
This is a cleverly put together work, a tight script and background music that adds to the period atmosphere of the work. Keeping all of the cast in neutral colours for their costume while making Anne Frank stand out from everyone else in a green dress works well here.
What is really important about this work is that it is being performed by a youth theatre company and it is important that the story of Anne Frank not only be told but re-told by younger people. Only by this happening can we not only always remember what happened, but hopefully limit the possibilities of history repeating itself (although sadly it has done so already across the world too many times since Anne Frank wrote her words and thoughts in her diary).
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com