The Final Witnesses

A theatre project by Doron Rabinovici and Matthias Hartmann. In collaboration with the video crew we created the visual design of this theatre evening.

Six Holocaust-survivors are seated on stage, in silence, behind a transparent curtain. Their only seemingly expressionless faces are projected on to the screen, while four younger actors read the stories of their lives and suffering. Photos from 1930s Vienna appear: masses of people cheering the Nazis, images from the camps, showing dead bodies and lost individuals; finally – scenes of the liberation. After their story has been told, they come to the front of the stage and deliver a very personal message. All this is staged with great delicacy, avoiding theatre effects and garnish; it is narrative in the best meaning of the word – and so avoids any dutiful contortions of memory combined with an automatic dismay. “The final witnesses” is a powerful yet fragile theatre document. (Berliner Festspiele)