Canned Goods

Like Operation Mincemeat it is always fascinating to discover a part of World War Two that is little known. And like that production it deals with fooling the enemy with a well planned hoax, however in this shocking event it was live prisoners that were killed to create the set-up and provide the reason Hitler needed to invade Poland.

This timely production directed with great skill by Charlotte Cohn packs a punch and looks at the theatre of war, quite literally. Here you are fully aware from the pre-show that you are observer and observed. As the smiling menace of SS Major Naujocks parades around the perimeter eyeing up the audience creating an unease that carries through this most impressive production.

Three prisoners have been selected and held awaiting a fate none of them know.
All are men that would not be missed if anything happened to them. Two prisoners from Dachau, Birnbaum a Jewish professor ( Charlie Archer) and Kruger a German janitor (Rowan Polonski). The third man is Honiok a farmer (Tom Wells) who questions why he is being held. The main action takes place within the confines of their cells smartly configured on Mona Camille’s open staging. Here these men, in varying degrees of certainty, await a fate that is likely to end in death. Only Kruger believes that his support of the regime will save him. All three performances are powerful and full of their own philosophies.

Overseeing the plans is Major Naujocks (Dan Parr) who gives a most disturbing performance that is all politeness, calling the men his ‘guests’ and treating them with good food that makes his real aims even more sinister. It is his character that gets to complete the story, explaining how he escaped execution at the Nierenberg trials because there were simply too many. Then turning his attention to the audience probing them in a way that leaves you questioning what is and isn’t acceptable in both theatre and life. Unnerving and totally thrilling.

Erik Kahn’s script is tight and searching and builds beautifully to its climax. He has a quote from Birnbaum “The fire of hated has burned long before Hitler. And that hatred will continue to burn long after he has gone. And in these uncertain political times this has to be even more profound.


Photo credit: Mark Senior