Feb 18-28: EAST OF BERLIN, Firehall/Touchstone

When I first saw a description of EAST OF BERLIN, I had to read it twice to figure out whether it was REFUGE OF LIES or not; "Rudi has grown up in Paraguay, blissfully ignorant of his father’s past. When he discovers the awful truth, he tries to atone for his father’s appalling acts. Can love heal what history has so brutally torn asunder? Or will the horrors of the past haunt him forever? East of Berlin is a stirring and absolutely essential meditation on the psychological legacy of the Holocaust..."
Of course it's not the same play, but that description hooked me. I'm not going to miss this one: even aside from the coincidence of name and place, these are obviously themes and subjects I find fascinating. I'm going next Friday.


Here's what Katrina Dunn (who directed PRODIGAL SON) sent in an email this morning...

Hi all,

This is just a little reminder email about East of Berlin, a really
amazing show from Toronto which Touchstone and others have brought out
to Vancouver and runs at the Firehall now until February 28th. Below
is some info about it and some of the artists involved that I sent out
around the GVPTA - I'm sure you'll know these people and appreciate
how great it is to have their work in town. I really hope you can
check out this amazing piece. A buddy of mine who was at the PWYC
preview last night said: "The show is both hysterically funny and
terrifying. The audience were stunned into a trance, truly. It took
them all some time to get up and leave. Wow."
Best, Katrina Dunn

Dear GVPTA Members,

The Firehall Arts Centre, Touchstone Theatre, the Chutzpah! Festival and Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad have brought the Tarragon Theatre's acclaimed production of Hannah Moscovitch's East of Berlin to Vancouver for a limited run. The show features the work of two of Toronto's hottest theatre artists - neither of whom has ever been featured on a Vancouver stage. Don't miss this rare opportunity to check out their work and this multi-Dora-award-nominated show fresh from its Toronto remount and off to play Theatre Network in Edmonton.

Playwright Hannah Moscovitch is a stellar young talent - an emerging playwright who has been dubbed "an indie sensation" by Toronto Life Magazine, "the wunderkind of Canadian theatre" by CBC Radio, and "irritatingly talented" by Eye Weekly. Her plays have been produced at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto where she is currently playwright-in-residence, the Factory Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects and the Magnetic North Theatre Festival among others. Upcoming, Hannah has been commissioned to create new works for the stage with a number of Canada's most exciting established and experimental theatre companies, including Prairie Theatre Exchange, Great Canadian Theatre Company, Volcano Theatre, 2b theatre company, Theatrefront, and Manhattan Theatre Club in New York.

Director Alisa Palmer is an award- winning theatre director in demand across the country and one of few Canadian directors who crosses genres, directing classics, contemporary plays, creation projects, musicals and operas. As a director recent productions include Top Girls (revived last fall for Soulpepper), The Clean House at Canadian Stage, the premiere and revival of the 2005 hit Belle Moral : A Natural History at the Shaw Festival (currently running at the National Arts Centre). She has directed numerous landmark plays which have toured across the country, including Diane Flacks Random Acts, Sibs by Richard Greenblatt and Flacks and Smudge, the first professional play by a blind playwright. She has twice been shortlisted for the Siminovitch prize.

East of Berlin plays February 18th to 28th at the Firehall Arts Centre.
Tickets are available at the Firehall Box Office 604-689-0926 or online