Lights Up on the Dark: The Holocaust Onstage26 Jan

"Leopoldstadt" by Tom Stoppard

In this week’s season premiere, timed to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Day and its 2026 theme of “Bridging Generations,” Sam and Alex look at Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna. But Hermann Merz, a manufacturer and baptised Jew married to Catholic Gretl, has moved up in the world. Gathered in the Merz apartment in a fashionable part of the city, Hermann’s extended family are at the heart of Tom Stoppard’s epic yet intimate drama. By the time we have taken leave of them, Austria has passed through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany and – for Austrian Jews – the Holocaust in which 65,000 of them were murdered. It is for the survivors to pass on a story which hasn’t ended yet.

Sam and Alex explore key themes covered in the play, from antisemitism to family relationships; discuss Stoppard’s skill in placing ‘Easter eggs’ throughout the play to show, rather than tell, Jewish and Holocaust history; look at the historical context of Leopoldstadt, Vienna’s second district; and consider how the play, which spans the period from 1899-1956, illustrates the importance of passing on stories before they are lost.

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Hosts: Samantha Mitschke & Alexandra Gellner

Executive Producer: Samantha Mitschke

Producer / Editor: Alexandra Gellner

Music: “Image” by Infraction Music

Contact: https://holocaustonstage.com/contact/

Episode Sources: Full list forthcoming

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