'Looking for a Monster' theatre performance
Hanus Hachenburg was the prodigal poet and writer in wartime Czechoslovakia. In 1943, while a thirteen year old prisoner in Theresienstadt (Terezin) concentration camp, he wrote a puppet play, 'We are Looking for a Monster', but it was never performed.
“The play is an allegory, in which King Illiterate I represents the supreme power of a nation at risk. His Minister advises him to ‘construct camps, where people will forget how to think’. In his desperate attempt to retain authority, the king decides to frighten his people into submission by constructing a monster, using the bones of his older citizens. Hanus’ ideas reflect the cruel circumstances of his brief life. ” Elena Makarova, Author, Jerusalem
In 1999, Gary Friedman discovered Hanus’ original puppet play in a Jerusalem archive. Being a social activist himself, he was drawn to the text as an extension of his own work. In 2001 Friedman performed the puppet play for the very first time in Cape Town and then went on to perform the work internationally.
Following the theatrical production, 'Looking for a Monster' has subsequently developed to include an educational schools' component, which is based upon identity, tolerance, diversity and providing students with the opportunity to tell their own stories. You can view an example of the most recent High School work (click here) and the Primary School work (click here).
* Please note: You can now rent or purchase the full puppet production of 'Looking for a Monster' by clicking here!
“The play is an allegory, in which King Illiterate I represents the supreme power of a nation at risk. His Minister advises him to ‘construct camps, where people will forget how to think’. In his desperate attempt to retain authority, the king decides to frighten his people into submission by constructing a monster, using the bones of his older citizens. Hanus’ ideas reflect the cruel circumstances of his brief life. ” Elena Makarova, Author, Jerusalem
In 1999, Gary Friedman discovered Hanus’ original puppet play in a Jerusalem archive. Being a social activist himself, he was drawn to the text as an extension of his own work. In 2001 Friedman performed the puppet play for the very first time in Cape Town and then went on to perform the work internationally.
Following the theatrical production, 'Looking for a Monster' has subsequently developed to include an educational schools' component, which is based upon identity, tolerance, diversity and providing students with the opportunity to tell their own stories. You can view an example of the most recent High School work (click here) and the Primary School work (click here).
* Please note: You can now rent or purchase the full puppet production of 'Looking for a Monster' by clicking here!