One Of Us (excerpt)

Synopsis:

In 1933, Irmgard Keun was at the height of her powers.

At 28, she had written two novels, each of which had been bestsellers in her native Germany and each of which had been successfully adapted for the screen.

On the basis of this success, she had landed a 3-book contract, and it seemed that the sky was the limit.

Then the Nazis came to power.

Keun – a kind of Candace Bushnell of her day, but with a political edge that pulled no punches – suddenly found herself blacklisted.

Her books were banned, withdrawn from the shelves and burned, and she was denied membership of the Reich Literary Chamber, without which it was impossible to have one’s work published anywhere in the Reich.

Most of her colleagues, similarly disenfranchised, fled to other parts of Europe or to America, but Keun responded to this villainy in a manner in which no other writer had ever responded before:  She sued the Gestapo!

But she paid a terrible price.

Hers is a story of extraordinary courage, and one that forces each of us to ask ourselves:  How does one live within a society where ‘evil’ is the norm, yet remain morally ‘separate’?

Character Breakdown:

The play is a four-hander:  2 females, 2 males.

IRMGARD KEUN 28, 30, 35 & 46 / NURSE / MARTINA 16 & 22 / GILGI / DORIS / SANNA -one actor.

IRMGARD KEUN  61,67 & 70 / SS OFFICER / SECRETARY – one actor.

KNUDSON  A lawyer / POLICE OFFICER 1 / HERR REUTER / OBERSTURMFUHRER KLEIST / OBERSTURMFUHRER ERNST STOLZ / HERR RICHTER – one actor.

POLICE OFFICER 2 / DR KRAUS / SECURITY GUARD – one actor.

Setting:

Berlin 1935
Amsterdam 1940
Berlin 1951
Bonn 1966/1972
Mainz 1975

Music may be pre-recorded or a small, live ensemble could be used, depending on resources.

Running-time: 110 minutes.

Production History: Not yet produced.

Excerpt available for download for free.