February 11, 2016
Montreal TimesBy Sharman Yarnell
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It is somewhat daring to take on a real life character and change history – someone who is revered, respected and, in this case, has become the face of the children of the Holocaust.
Playwright Alix Sobler has done just that. The Secret Annex, imagining the possibilities for Anne Frank in post war America during the 50s and 60s, has been written with respect and dignity, and was recognized as such opening night, at the Segal Theatre.
What would have happened to all those children whose lives were snatched from them? The future doctors, philosophers, peace makers, the mothers and fathers? What if they had lived? What if…? Sobler has tackled that question using Anne Frank’s diary, one of the most powerful accounts of the Holocaust.
What would have happened had Anne not died of typhus in Bergen-Belson, just weeks before the liberation. What is the domino effect of her being alive? What happens to the ‘attic’ and the people who shared it with her? Where does Anne live and how does she cope remembering all that happened in those years hidden away.
What would Anne Frank have done with her story had she made it out of the camp alive, if the last page had “Freed” written on it? Would her book have received the recognition it has had the world over? Will it have as much interest as a story of someone who has died? Can she get her story published? (The underlying note here, is the fact that most people are only recognized when they are dead. Stories of pain and suffering really only leave their mark when someone has succumbed.)
And…can someone who has been traumatized by such horrors, move on and leave their fears behind?
Sara Farb IS Anne Frank. It is as if she stepped into her skin and wrapped it around her with all the fears, the humour, sensitivity and longing that is Anne. Suffice to say the role could not have been better cast. Farb recently played Anne in the Diary of Anne Frank at Stratford. So the foundation was there to build on. She has drawn on the personality and spirit that jumps out at you from the original Diary of Anne Frank.
Marcel Jeannin (Michael Stein) is outstanding as Anne’s husband! He plays with such clarity, focus and honesty. A perfect match for Farb’s Anne – their scenes together are magical, leading us to ponder…if only!
There simply is not a bad performance in this production – Judith Baribeau as Virginia Belair is everything one expects of a publisher in that time, the gestures, the nuances all so truthful. Brett Donahue as Peter, who shared the attic with Anne, Anne Cassar as her sister, Margot, bring their own strengths to this impressive cast.
The Secret Annex also reminds us of the terrors faced by those who did make it out of the camps and went on to live out their lives. Anne talks about how horrible it would be to have lived, freed from the camps, but to have no one to live for, to be all alone, having lost all your relatives and friends. One can only imagine….
Director Marcia Kash, has created a nice tight production. (One small complaint would be the placing of a desk stage right, on an angle in which part of the audience sees only the back of the actor for some time.)
The set by Michael Egan is simple and supportive of the actions of the actors. Nothing is overdone, nothing superfluous. His costumes are very true to the time.
They all make it so easy to imagine, to believe this could have been, so that when the play is over and the audience is dispersing, there is a sort of double whammy because reality hits and you remember….
Anne didn’t make it out, Peter didn’t make it out and neither did Margot. A bitter sweet after moment –
Do not miss this powerful production of the Secret Annex on at the Segal until February 21.