The Smoke of Home

by Zdeněk Eliáš and Jiří Stein
Director Joe Lichtenstein
Dramaturg Lisa Peschel
Translated by Dorothy Elias

Download the Programme here

The Smoke of Home, a one-act play written in the World War II Jewish ghetto at Terezín (in German, Theresienstadt), was preserved by one of its authors and resurfaced in 2006 during Dr Lisa Peschel’s research on the cultural life of the ghetto.  What inspired this historical allegory, set in the Thirty Years’ War? Jiří Franěk, a survivor of the ghetto and friend of the authors Zdeněk Eliáš and Jiří Stein recalled that many of the Terezín prisoners lived only for their memories of home, a home they very much idealized and expected to return to after the war. ‘All those naive recollections were related to a notion of home which was unchanging. Only a few were able to look the truth in the eyes, a truth which was already apparent even in the camps:  none of us would return to the same home we left. Eliáš and Stein were able to face that possibility’.  With their play, the two young Czech-Jewish authors confronted the question their fellow prisoners could not bear to face: if we survive, will we have a home to return to?

The performance will be introduced by Dr Lisa Peschel, editor of Performing Captivity, Performing Escape: Cabarets and Plays from the Terezin/Theresienstadt Ghetto, who rediscovered the play in 2006.

Tickets
Tickets: £15 (adults), £12 (over 60s) £8 (under 18s, students and unwaged)

Important information
Please note that this event is not accessible by wheelchair. There are 55 steps with a central handrail up to the tower. The audience is expected to stand for the 45-minute performance; no fold-up chairs, please. Seating is limited to nine bench seats. Please let us know if you need a bench seat when you book.

There are no toilets on site. The nearest public conveniences are next to Fenwick (Coppergate Centre) and close at 8pm.

No alcohol or glass bottles to be brought to the performance.

Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

And finally, the performance is outdoors, so please dress warmly and bring a raincoat; no umbrellas, please.

** In the event of heavy rain, please check emails and text messages for further information. **