PERSEPHONE PRODUCTIONS REVIVES KINDERTRANSPORT SAGA
by NANCY SNIPPER
It happened nine months before the outbreak of WWII.
A train transported 10,000 German Jewish children out of the country to England. This train was called the Kindertransport. The risky event saved part of an entire generation, but not without consequences.
While many of the parents perished in the death camps, their own children were left in the dark as to their whereabouts. The displaced children grew to love their new British guardians/parents, and never returned home. Many never knew the truth about why they were being sent away in the first place or when their parents, if at all, would be joining them. Of course, they were always told that mommy and daddy would be joining them soon. Lies to avoid heartbreak and death, were well-intentioned, but sometimes, ill-received when the truth came out.
Written by Liverpool-born playwright, Diane Samuels, who interviewed a number of these children prior to writing the play. Kindertransport is a dramatic theatre piece that presents one particular child's experience on this train and her reaction to that entire turbulent period some 36 years later.
The character is Eva, a resilient girl, played by Nicole Sherry from Snowdon. She is happy to take the meaty part - her first professional acting job since graduating from John Abbott College.
"It's really challenging to play a nine-year old, since I'm 19. But as a former gymnastics teacher at a camp, I got a lot of opportunities to observe children at that age," said Shery, who exchanged the trampoline for the stage while a teenager.
"I also play Eva when she was 15. It's something I've never done before, playing a character at different times in her life. I'm also thinking about what the next job will be after the show ends, since I'm now on my own as a professional actor. I no longer can count on college productions. I love acting - it's my passion," said Shery, whose big brown expressive eyes sparkle when she speaks.
Kindertransport is directed by Gabrielle Soskin, founder of Persephone Productions and a teacher in the Theatre Department of John Abbott College. In fact, Shery and another cast member, Lael Stellick, had Soskin as a teacher at the College.
"It's been great to be working with Gabrielle on this excellent play," said Stellick, who resides in NDG. "I play several different small roles, including a Nazi, a British station organizer and a postman, so I'm working on the accent changes and movement to make these characters have their distinct lives on stage."
Like Shery who also has to learn both German and British accents, Stellick is up for the challenge, and is relying on his dance talents to explore these characters' gaits and mannerisms.
"I do contact dance improvisation. I recently performed with my partner at Studio 303, and I just completed my first feature film called Sam hane. I played a villain. In Kindertransport, the villains I play have their own story to tell," said the 23-year-old Stellick, whose pleasant manner and humour belie his on-stage characters.
Soskin trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Trent Park College of Education, and Concordia University. Her new theatre company is committed to presenting plays which are innovative, and of literary and social significance.
By selecting Kindertransport, Soskin has hit the mark. It's a great play with a well-trained cast, up to the task of taking Kindertransport to unforgettable places that dwell in our hearts.
The company mandate states: "Persephone Productions is a new and vibrant theatre company especially created to provide work opportunities for young professionals in our community and to bring excellent theatre to our audiences."
Reprinted from The Chronicle, West End Edition September 18, 2002
It happened nine months before the outbreak of WWII.
A train transported 10,000 German Jewish children out of the country to England. This train was called the Kindertransport. The risky event saved part of an entire generation, but not without consequences.
While many of the parents perished in the death camps, their own children were left in the dark as to their whereabouts. The displaced children grew to love their new British guardians/parents, and never returned home. Many never knew the truth about why they were being sent away in the first place or when their parents, if at all, would be joining them. Of course, they were always told that mommy and daddy would be joining them soon. Lies to avoid heartbreak and death, were well-intentioned, but sometimes, ill-received when the truth came out.
Written by Liverpool-born playwright, Diane Samuels, who interviewed a number of these children prior to writing the play. Kindertransport is a dramatic theatre piece that presents one particular child's experience on this train and her reaction to that entire turbulent period some 36 years later.
The character is Eva, a resilient girl, played by Nicole Sherry from Snowdon. She is happy to take the meaty part - her first professional acting job since graduating from John Abbott College.
"It's really challenging to play a nine-year old, since I'm 19. But as a former gymnastics teacher at a camp, I got a lot of opportunities to observe children at that age," said Shery, who exchanged the trampoline for the stage while a teenager.
"I also play Eva when she was 15. It's something I've never done before, playing a character at different times in her life. I'm also thinking about what the next job will be after the show ends, since I'm now on my own as a professional actor. I no longer can count on college productions. I love acting - it's my passion," said Shery, whose big brown expressive eyes sparkle when she speaks.
Kindertransport is directed by Gabrielle Soskin, founder of Persephone Productions and a teacher in the Theatre Department of John Abbott College. In fact, Shery and another cast member, Lael Stellick, had Soskin as a teacher at the College.
"It's been great to be working with Gabrielle on this excellent play," said Stellick, who resides in NDG. "I play several different small roles, including a Nazi, a British station organizer and a postman, so I'm working on the accent changes and movement to make these characters have their distinct lives on stage."
Like Shery who also has to learn both German and British accents, Stellick is up for the challenge, and is relying on his dance talents to explore these characters' gaits and mannerisms.
"I do contact dance improvisation. I recently performed with my partner at Studio 303, and I just completed my first feature film called Sam hane. I played a villain. In Kindertransport, the villains I play have their own story to tell," said the 23-year-old Stellick, whose pleasant manner and humour belie his on-stage characters.
Soskin trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Trent Park College of Education, and Concordia University. Her new theatre company is committed to presenting plays which are innovative, and of literary and social significance.
By selecting Kindertransport, Soskin has hit the mark. It's a great play with a well-trained cast, up to the task of taking Kindertransport to unforgettable places that dwell in our hearts.
The company mandate states: "Persephone Productions is a new and vibrant theatre company especially created to provide work opportunities for young professionals in our community and to bring excellent theatre to our audiences."
Reprinted from The Chronicle, West End Edition September 18, 2002