EAST OF BERLIN

Agegroup: 
Adults
Cast: 
2m, 1f

A young man living in Paraguay discovers his parent's tale of how they left Germany is not all he first believed it to be. His father was in fact working under Mengele as a surgeon in Auschwitz, performing inhumaine medical procedures and tests on inmates. Rudi, the son, is not only angry with his father and shocked but assumes his father's guilt, a guilt which his father has failed to acknowledge or even have (he still meets up with other ex-pat Germans to talk about the fuehrer and sing national anthems). This story tells the tale of a generation borne of the ruins of the world war and its aftermath. It asks the question, how much do we assimilate our parent's lives into our own. In an act of revenge Rudi performs a gay sex act in his father's office. Rudi goes to Germany and meets a Jewish girl, haf guilt-ridden on behalf of his father and half curious, he embarks on an affair with her. Their relationship is fraught with Rudi's guilt about his father and a genuine love for Sarah, the girl. A curious story of how subsequent generations tried to make up for the faults of their parents, of how much responsibility we should assume for our history. Very interesting. In the end Rudi finds himself turning his father in to Mossad, marrying Sarah and considering ending his life.

More Information: 

UK premier: The Southwark Playhouse June 2014