Berlin, 1930, in Newcastle

Berlin, 1930, in Newcastle

Step back in time to a world where the seeds of World War 2 were being sown, with Newcastle Theatre Company’s October production of I Am a Camera.

It is 1930, the Nazi Party is on the rise. Political and civil unrest is stirring in pre-war Berlin. Behind the shutters of his rented Berlin apartment, the life of a fledgling author is developing. He remains uninvolved, simply observing, almost like a camera. When the author's life is interrupted by the arrival of a  strange and exciting young woman he is swept up and away from the realities  of life. From their bed-sitting room of Fraulein Schneider's apartment, the two seek to experience the height of sophistication at the same time as whilst being  challenged by the moral complexities of life.

This 1951 play by John Van Druten is based on Christopher Isherwood's The Berlin Stories, set in early 1930s Berlin. These works were the inspiration for the stage musical and the film Cabaret which won eight Academy Awards.

The title of the play is a quote taken from the first page of Isherwood’s novel Goodbye to Berlin, "I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking."

Sam DeLyall as Christopher Isherwood and Brittney Angus as the ‘at best insouciant and at worst notorious’ Sally Bowles, will recreate that extraordinary and timeless mercurial relationship. They lead a cast including NTC newcomers Ellen McNeil and Lindsay McDonald supported by the experienced Judith Schofield, David Murray  and Tracey Gordon.

I Am a Camera, directed by Kelsie Clarke, promises authenticity and sincerity as audiences share the excitement and turmoil of pre-war Berlin, before the historical chill engulfs this vibrant set of characters, on the eve of a real world cataclysm.

I Am a Camera

October 5 - 19

90 De Vitre Street, Labton          

Bookings: www.newcastletheatrecompany.com.au or 49524958 (3pm-6pm Monday – Friday)

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