Kindertransport by Diane Samuels – New Wolsey Theatre
Kindertransport – the German word that translates as the transportation of children. Today, Kindertransport means one thing: the escape and rescue of 10,000 children from the Nazi regime before the outbreak of the Second World War.
When nine-year-old Eva Schlesinger is sent from her home in Hamburg, Germany to brave the unknown of Manchester by herself, the world as she knows it changes quickly. Armed with one tiny suitcase packed only with clothes and her harmonica, Eva bravely forges on to her destination, the house of the English Millers.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching Kindertransport, and every cliff-hanger, time shift and plot twist made me want to watch for longer.
With no bad language and a suitable storyline for younger watchers, the only slight issue was the extreme amount of smoking and for that reason, parents should have the option whether to take a younger child or not.
Leila Schaus, who played Eva, was my favourite actor. You could see that everything she was doing mattered to her, she clearly loved every second of the performance, as I did! I also loved Hannah Bristow as Faith, as she was so in-character, she never once stopped being Faith, and she was incredible at it.
I loved the idea of having a raised floor so that the characters had different levels they could stand on, and how the stage transformed from the attic to the train station and other things.
Altogether, I loved the whole night, and I would definitely recommend it!
A review by Deryn Baidoo
