Nicole Nahum 26-01-2024
Once upon a time, somewhere, there was a girl, Tammy, the only daughter of Auschwitz survivors, who, at the age of 45, discovers that she has never truly loved yet. Logically, the story highlights Tammy’s life and her courageous struggle which, through her empathy and understanding, will lead her to affirm her right to love, to be loved and to embrace the joys of life. On the other hand, it is not possible to live without love or even without someone to love.
The protagonist of this narrative therefore seems familiar to us; her trials and her problems are rooted in current events. About her We know her story because we have lived it or, at least in part, heard it. The character is part of our intimate and devastated landscape as the story highlights the pain of the children of the survivors, what is usually defined as the “second generation”.
The play is an excellent investigation of the darkest chapter in history, managing to blend past and present together, allowing the audience to witness the profound echoes of suffering that resonate across different generations. This show is, therefore, an accurate reflection on the childhood of the children of the survivors and, more particularly, on the playwright Jacob Buchan, whose mother was the secretary of Mengele, a Nazi doctor, and on his autobiographical story “The Whistle”. The latter, “The Whistle,” became a theatrical adaptation, made at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv, starring actress, writer, director, songwriter and playwright Hadar Galron and, finally, directed by director Hana Vazana-Greenwald. The show was subsequently translated into nine languages and performed in several countries and then, on 27 January 2024, on the occasion of Remembrance Day, also arrived at the Teatro Civico Puccini in Merano (Bz), in Italy. Also in Merano, on Monday 29th, the director, H. Vazana-Greenwald, together with Doctor R. Rosenberg, will hold a workshop on post-Shoah generations. The show is therefore aimed not only at paying homage to the victims of the Shoah, but also urges us to contemplate our responsibility in preserving the past, trying not to repeat the same mistakes again in a more compassionate future. In a world, now more than ever, divided and indifferent, “The Whistle” represents a reminder of our common humanity.
Credit: shalom.it