In conjunction with International Holocaust Remembrance Day this 27th of January, Voices of the Holocaust proposes a methodology to ensure that the stories of survivors and victims of the Holocaust will not be lost in the post survivor era and that their experiences are retold, understood and learnt from in appropriate and meaningful ways.
Founded in 2013, Voices of the Holocaust uses Drama to teach Holocaust. Voices’ objective is to ensure that the voices of survivors and victims of the Holocaust will not be lost in the post survivor era. It proves that if these complex stories are told in the right way, theatre can be the surrogate human voice to continue telling history that needs to be remembered.
For 2022, a new performance and published play text for use in classrooms in the UK and beyond. Kindness: A Legacy of the Holocaust is a groundbreaking new verbatim Holocaust play about survivor Susan Pollack MBE – Premiering at Harrow Arts Centre in London, on 26th January 2022 19:00.
Susan, who lost over fifty relatives in the Holocaust, survived at the age of 15, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen. At 91, she is retiring from over 30 years of testifying in schools across the UK and entrusting the theatre company Voices of the Holocaust, to tell her story on her behalf.
The play is adapted by Cate Hollis, Artistic Director of Voices of the Holocaust (the only specialist Holocaust theatre in education company in Europe) and Mark Wheeller (the most performed UK living playwright and GCSE Drama staple). The plays produced by Voices are powerful tools to both move and inspire audiences. In schools they are accompanied by educational packages in a number of core curriculum areas, including inspiring workshops and activities, schemes of work and ‘The Mitzvah Project’ – an ongoing whole school commitment to their own ‘Acts of Kindness’ as a reflection on the play and Susan’s experiences.
Kindness: A Legacy of the Holocaust will go on to tour schools and educational institutions, largely made possible by the support and endorsement of the European Jewish Fund.
