Bente Kahan

Bente Kahan in the monodrama Voices from Theresienstadt (Stemmer fra Theresienstadt) by Ellen Foyn Bruun and Bente Kahan. From the Norwegian version of the play at cafetheatret, Centraltheatret, Oslo, May 1995. Thor Hauknes accompany on piano and accordion. Costume and set design by Helena Gleichgewicht.
Bente performs five female prisoners from different countries in different ages being together in a barrack in the ghetto Theresienstadt. The play includes also cabaret songs poetry written by Ilse Weber in the ghetto, most of them set to music by Bente. The performance was later shown on stages in Stockholm and Copenhagen, then with Dariusz Swinoga and Miroslaw Kuzniak. The followed her later on tour, first with the German version of the play at Theater Tribüne in Berlin (one week i 2006), then later in different German cities including Theater Kahn in Dresden and Frankfurt Alte Oper. In 2007, the play had its English premiere at the New End Theatre in London (performed for five weeks). This version visited many prestigous places, including the United States Holocaust Museum and Yad Vashem in Israel. A concert version with both Swinoga and Kuzniak accompanying, has also been shown on many international stages. Albums of the songs with the same title was done in Norwegian, German and English versions.
In 2005, Bente adapted the monodrama for five female actors. It was translated into Polish by Aleksander Gleichgewicht and together with Firlej cultural institution in Wroclaw and with the support of the City of Wroclaw, it was produced for The White Stork Synagogue in Poland. Bente directed the play with local actors from Wroclaw theatres and was shown between 2005 - 2010 to more than 10 000 youngsters from schools in the region. (Fonte: Bente Kahan)… (més)