About the Play
Between 1938 and the outbreak of war, almost 10,000 Jewish children and teenagers were sent by their parents from Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia to Britain for safety. Very few of these Kinder ever
saw their parents again.
Diane Samuels' play "Kindertransport" follows the story of nine-year-old Eva from the separation from her parents, through her adjustment in Britain, and to her life as an adult. Eva copes by disavowing her earlier German-Jewish identity and becoming English, and by changing her name to Evelyn. The play shows how her adult life, especially the relationship with her daughter, is shaped by her early experiences.
Author Diane Samuels conducted extensive interviews with people who had come over to Britain with the Kindertransport. The psychological pain that can accompany physical survival, the question of identity, and the relations between the generations are central themes in the play.
Directing the strong cast of five women and one man is Bruce Oppenheimer, who previously directed "Mrs Klein" and "Hay Fever" for JEST. The actors - Dawn Nadel, Batya Casper, Corinne Markov, Rebecca Gillis, Deborah Kaye and Jonathan Gillis - have had extensive experience in both professional and amateur theater.
The play has had successful runs in London, New York, Tokyo and elsewhere. The New Yorker described the play as "a powerful contribution to Holocaust literature.....presented with emotional clarity and intense sympathy".