This weekend, in Chennai, a monologue by a ‘Nazi Hunter’ promises to give you new insight into WW II and The Holocaust

Written by Tom Dugan and portraying the life of Simon Wiesenthal, the play is an interesting take on Holocaust survivors and their pursuit of justice
TM Karthik as Simon Wiesenthal
TM Karthik as Simon Wiesenthal

Denver Anthony Nicholas and Poochu’s Productions present a hard-hitting monologue this weekend focusing on the life of one of the world’s most celebrated ‘Nazi Hunters,’ Simon Wiesenthal. The 80-minute monologue, Wiesenthal, featuring the acting prowess of popular theatre artiste, TM Karthik, aims at retelling the story of this Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor and writer, who worked tirelessly for 50+ years to bring Nazi war criminals to justice.

“Our new play is based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal in his own words, since it is a monologue. This amazing man dedicated 58 years of his life to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice. He is often called a ‘Nazi Hunter,’ but I think that epithet doesn’t do his life justice — he wasn’t tracking down these criminals for vengeance, he was doing it to bring them to justice and I find a world of a difference there,” begins Denver, who directs the play.

The monologue is written by American playwright Tom Dugan, known for ‘one-actor theatre’ and several other popular monologues including Oscar To Oscar, Robert E Lee  —  Shades of Gray and Frederick Douglass — In The Shadow of Slavery.

Poster
Poster

“It is placed in Simon’s office on his last day at work, when he is 90 years old. In real life too, Simon retired when he was 90 and he then passed away when he was 96 in 2005. This was his last audience, per se, and he tells them his story. The narrative takes us all the way back to World War II and ends as recently as 2003. It’s a very intense and brilliant piece and required quite a lot of preparation for the protagonist, TM Karthik. We were trying to emulate Simon and not simply imitate him. We wanted to tap into his sympathy, empathy, anger, disgust and guilt. To bring in a little more authenticity, we also worked with someone who could help us with the Jewish Austrian accent, at least for some words,” adds Denver.  Monologues can be tough to watch if the narrative is not riveting, but Tom Dugan’s ‘one-actor theatre’ productions are known for their ability to create an impact on you as a viewer. Poochu’s Productions also added in elements like set and lighting to elevate the performance, that add to the final theatrical effect.

“Karthik and I debated a lot about this play. The first question being: is this story relevant to our audience? But once we read the whole play, the connect unraveled itself. Also, the play is very informative and educational and I think our history-inclined audiences will love it. Yes, we do warn audiences that it is about The Holocaust and therefore, do be cautious, especially if references to abuse trigger you. The play is about WW II and everybody already knows quite a lot about Hitler and the Holocaust. This play, however, introduces many of the other characters from that period in time — people who were Hitler’s actual henchmen, ensuring his orders were acted on. The play talks about Nazi criminals like Adolf Eichmann and how Simon tracked him down,” concludes Denver.

Duration: 80 minutes. INR 300 onwards. August 28. 3 pm and 5 pm. At Alliance Française of Madras.

romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal

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