In Quest of Conscience
IN QUEST OF CONSCIENCE by Robert David MacDonald
Finborough Theatre
June 2011
REVIEWS
"A brilliant and important play which is based on the actual interviews with the death camp commandant Franz Stragl by Gitta Sereny searching desperately to discover how the Holocaust happened, how one worked and lived with it, and how to prevent it occurring again" - London Theatreviews
"This enormously important work" - London Theatreviews
"In Quest of Conscience is a dramatisation of the interviews that Gita Sereny, author of Mary Bell and Albert Speer, conducted with Stangl while he was in Dusseldorf Prison. ‘I want to know how you see yourself as a human being?’ This dramatic exploration is also about us: how do you rationalise the actions of individuals who are responsible for the deaths of so many?" - Extra! Extra!
"Phillipa Peak and Martin Buchan make a compelling pair" - Spoonfed
"Played with canny detail by Peak, she makes the interviewer as much a compelling character as the interviewee" - Spoonfed
"Expertly played by Phillipa Peak" - Extra! Extra!
"There is however, an unforgettable performance in this play. In Buchan's hands, Strangl is profoundly challenging to watch, but completely absorbing at the same time. He cries remembering his happy days teaching the zither and we recoil at this pathetic old man. Then, leaving us open-mouthed, he is horribly matter of fact and disturbingly proud of himself for the things he did in Treblinka" - Spoonfed
"Martin Buchan does a powerful job as Stangl, using an almost easy-going matter-of-factness to tell his story, except for when matters stray too near his family, then he almost becomes unhinged" - Extra! Extra!
"Convincingly played by Siobhan Harrison" - Extra! Extra!
“Philllipa Peak’s memorable performance brings the heart of Sereny’s quest to life with gritty sincerity” - A Younger Theatre
CAST
Martin Buchan, Phillipa Peak, Patrick Knowles and Siubhan Harrison
CREATIVE TEAM
Director: Rachel Heyburn
Set and Costume Designer: Florence McHugh
Lighting Designer: Dan Cloake
Sound Designer: Chris Barlow
Photography: Pete Le May
