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Hannah in ‘Korczak’
at The Rose Theatre Kingston
A note from Hannah!
This summer I had an amazing experience that has had a huge impact on me as a person. I worked for 3 weeks with the ‘Youth Music Theatre’ on a musical based upon the real events in Warsaw during WWII.
The musical performed by 44 young people and 1 professional actor in an impressive 1000 seated theatre ‘The Rose’ in Kingston was written and directed by Nick Stimson Associate Director at Plymouth Theatre Royal. It tells the story of Dr Janus Korczak who looked after Jewish & Catholic orphans in Warsaw. It follows the orphans into the Ghetto and tells their stories until they sing as they head to the freight trains that will take them to Treblinka Death Camp.
In this project I learned so much about humanity and inhumanity on a truly emotional journey as my real character Gienia – she was crippled by Polio [which meant I had to walk with a limp] and she had lost her mother and father. In the play she is constantly looking for her brother Samuel who promised he would never leave her alone. At the end she dies of Diphtheria before they leave for Treblinka.
I don’t think I have cried so much in my entire life. I was privileged to meet a Ghetto survivor and the half- sister of Anne Frank. Both spoke to the cast about the message of the play and how important it is that the real truths we reveal are never forgotten. This was a humbling experience. I now understand the fear, the dignity, the pride and suffering of all those who were exterminated by the hate of the Nazi regime.
Dr Korczak says “What should we do when everyone is acting less than human? We must act more than human.”
This experience will live with me for the rest of my life. After the last performance I sat silently on the bank of the Thames throwing a single rose onto the water watching in silence as it floated away in memory of my character Gienia and all those who died in the horrors of the Holocaust.
This summer I have worked with an inspirational Writer / Director and Musical Director and I am more convinced than ever that this is what I want to do with my life.
REVIEW QUOTES!
‘…….the delicate friendship between Hannah Thompson’s troubled Gienia and Sophie Garner’s big-sisterly Malgorzata carried through to a simply heart-breaking conclusion. All of these performers did fantastic jobs, displaying impressive depth to portray the quandaries they all find themselves in, but I do have to say that I thought Hannah Thompson was just exceptional, her vocal control and intensity of performance belying her youth.
‘The work of the young ensemble is solid across the board, but especially impressive are the heart-rending, dulcet-toned Jo Moore, as Staszek, clutching tightly to the bird-cage that serves (a tad insistently) as one of the primary symbols of the piece, and Hannah Thompson who brings a riveting, beyond-her-years intensity to her role as the wilful Gienia.
[Alex Ramon British Theatre Guide]
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