DEVASTATING AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING

By Trisha Cusack ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

“That’s the thing about history, not all of it is knowable.” A powerful quote that captures the spirit of Moisés Kaufman and Amanda Gronich’s Pulitzer-nominated play, Here There Are Blueberries.

Here There Are Blueberries is a documentary-style drama dramatising the discovery of a photo album belonging to SS Officer Karl Höcker by historians at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. What is remarkable about this album, aside from it being one of the only photographic evidence of Auschwitz, was that no victims featured in the photographs. Instead, it displayed the seemingly ordinary lives of staff working at the camp.

Over the next 90 minutes, the cast of museum archivists attempt to uncover the truth behind these shocking images – not shocking because of any violence displayed but rather due to the lack of it which is jarring given the photos were taken at the world’s most infamous concentration camp.

Photographs are magnified on stage, pointing out those present. Many names people would be familiar with – Josef Mengele, Rudolf Höss and Richard Baer. But what of everyone else? They do not appear to be the picture of evil incarnate, posing and smiling while going about their everyday lives. And yet, they are surrounded by some of the worst human atrocities in history, carefully left out of frame.

The play is devastating and unsettling throughout. As often happens when watching a documentary, there are moments of detachment before being brought back to the reality of what you’re seeing. To learn about Solahütte , a chalet resort on the Auschwitz complex where officers and their families would holiday as a “reward”, was particularly sobering, especially when you remember what they were being rewarded for.

The cast does a good job of juggling the different narrations, playing real-life historians such as Dr Rebecca Erbelding and the Nazis when bringing these photos to life. While some of the acting was weaker than others, which let down this production for me slightly, the overall desired impact is certainly achieved.

The secondary storyline covering the generational trauma of Nazi descendants is also a clever contribution. When the photos became an international sensation in 2007, no doubt this caused huge frissons in the lives of those related to the people in the photographs. The internal conflict is well captured in the dialogue and depositions of these descendants who struggle to reconcile the father or grandfather they knew growing up with the role they had in the Holocaust.

Kaufman’s approach to rooting the play in historical research is critical for it not being another WW2 play. The counterbalance of showcasing the only other photographic evidence of the camp that actually did feature the victims, discovered by survivor Lili Jacob, brings home the true level of devastation and horror that happened at Auschwitz.

By bringing to life the stories and facts behind the photos, Here There Are Blueberries creates powerful viewing, forcing the viewer to ask, “What would you have done?” This question is even more relevant in today’s world.

Here There Are Blueberries is running at Stratford East until Saturday 28 February.

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Photo Credit: Mark Senior