Leopoldstadt
Tom Stoppard
Stoppard’s most personal play is a sweeping epic following a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna over fifty years. Spanning from the optimism of 1899 through the horrors of the Holocaust to 1955, the drama traces the family’s assimilation, cultural contributions, and eventual devastation. The play serves as an exploration of identity, memory, and the tragic consequences of forgetting one's heritage. Drawing on Stoppard’s late-life discovery of his own Jewish roots, it is a sobering, large-scale production that trades his usual wordplay for a devastatingly direct emotional impact, confronting the darkest chapter of the 20th century with grace.
Hermann Merz: A successful textile manufacturer who converts to Christianity to assimilate into Viennese society, only to see his efforts fail against rising anti-Semitism. Gretl Merz: Hermann’s Catholic wife, whose beauty and social standing initially provide a veneer of protection for the family during their period of high assimilation. Ludwig: A mathematician and family member who remains skeptical of assimilation, serving as an intellectual voice of caution regarding the family's precarious status in Austria.
First Performance: 2020, at Wyndham's Theatre, London
Massive success; sold out its run and won the Olivier Award for Best New Play.
Original Actors: Adrian Scarborough, Faye Castelow, Luke Thallon