A formally audacious and deeply moving memoir that confronts the defining trauma of the twentieth century, and its effects on a father and son.
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My plays have been performed in: London, Edinburgh, New York, Berlin, Chicago, Sydney, Dresden, Cardiff and others.
I am a Professor at the University of Essex.
The Berlin Shadow is my first book.
The Berlin Shadow is about the journey I took with my father where we traced the route of his escape from Nazi Germany on one of the ‘Kindertransports’. My father was 12 when he travelled alone from Berlin to London. He had never talked about what happened to him.
My father was fearless, whether para-gliding whilst in his eighties or telling-off complete strangers. He was often badly behaved and being with him was always full of surprises. Every situation was riddled with quarrels and rows – though this made him very funny.
During the journey he began to talk about the loss of his family and country whilst celebrating his survival and good fortune and the blessings of a new unexpected life in Wales.
brings the subject of war close to home and handles it with a terrifying intensity.
THE SCOTSMAN - FRINGE FIRST WINNER
Jonathan Lichtenstein beautifully portrays how the war destroyed a rural Welsh family.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
a harrowing, heartbreaking play.
THE GUARDIAN
Jonathan Lichtenstein's drama is simple in its conception yet elemental in its themes ... it packs a wallop.
THE NEW YORK POST
compelling drama ... an impressive achievement.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
a searing, absolutely splendid new play
BACKSTAGE
We fall head first into the compelling tales and their tragic conclusions. Lichtenstein's drama - part historical, part political - gains the ability to deliver a theatrical blow that sends us reeling
THE VILLAGE VOICE
an astounding piece of drama
METRO (UK)
Utterly absorbing, emotionally powerful
THE STAGE (LONDON)
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